By Adam Swift
The city council and the administration are working together to ensure that senior citizens and home healthcare workers have access to physical visitor parking pass placards.
Councillors Joanne McKenna and Juan Pablo Jaramillo originally introduced the motion, which was unanimously approved by the council, asking that the mayor request the Director of Parking to issue paper visitor passes, as opposed to digital visitor passes, for seniors over the age of 65 and healthcare workers.
“Since the parking department went digital, a lot of people, mostly senior citizens, have called me … in frustration because they don’t know how to get the visitor passes on the computer, “ said McKenna. “I talked to the mayor and he said he would put this in as a request.”
McKenna said when she went to a recent event at the senior center, even more people came up to her and said they had issues getting the visitor passes online.
In addition to talking to the mayor, McKenna said she also spoke to Parking Director Zach Babo about the issue, and that Babo assured her that his department was working on providing the physical visitor parking placards for people over 65.
“If you are 65 and over, you can get a hard copy of the visitor placard,” McKenna said. “It will probably be in May because they have to tweak the system.”
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she has also been working with the mayor and the parking director about the issue.
“A lot of seniors are not comfortable with or do not have the access to smartphones or computers,” she said. “Expecting them to navigate a digital-only system creates unnecessary hardship on them.”
Guarino-Sawaya noted that many senior citizens have multiple home health visits from healthcare workers or family each day.
“A paper option serves as a reliable backup for those who face technical difficulties, ensuring equal access to parking passes regardless of technological ability is a matter of fairness,” she said. “Providing a paper option ensures that no one is left behind.”
Jaramillo said it’s important to make sure all residents in the city have equal access to city services, and that adjustments are made to policies to make sure everyone has that equal access.
Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky also spoke in favor of the motion.
“I’ve gotten hundreds and hundreds of calls of people complaining,” he said. “I had one person in my own house try it … and had trouble doing it. I think we have to make it easier for as many people as we can.”
