A Necessary Evil: Why I Hate Handicapped Parking Spots

I hate handicap parking spots. I know that this is a strong statement, but I really do hate handicap parking spots. This is not to say that I am not grateful that there are spots that are supposed to allow enough space for me to park my handicap accessible van, safely lower my ramp, exit, and then later reenter my van. However, these spot are limited and segregate the disabled community from everyone else.
The spots are limited in that the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) only requires one out of every twenty-five "regular" spots to be handicap accessible, and as the "regular" spots increase, the number of required handicap spots per "regular" spots decrease; in a parking lot of three hundred parking spots, only seven have to be handicap accessible. The other thing is, after the first van accessible spot, there only has to be one more van accessible spot for every eight smaller handicap spots. (I, along with others who have handicap accessible vans, cannot utilize the smaller spots, as I need about eight feet of space to exit my van). These ratios were declared law in 1990 by the ADA, but have yet to be updated; these ratios may have been acceptable then, but it is twenty four years later, and this law is outdated.
According to a study conducted last year by the Seattle Times, one in ten cars have a handicap accessible placard/plates that allow them to park in one of the "close spots". This is a large percentage of parking placards for the amount of required handicap accessible spots. In a parking lot of three hundred spaces, there only needs to be seven handicap spaces, but if that parking lot happens to be full, and ten percent of those cars have a handicap accessible placard (meaning thirty cars would have one), then twenty three cars who are in need of a handicap spot, would be without a place to park.
Now, there is the factor that the person who needs the placard is not in a couple of these cars, so then those cars do not need to park in the handicap spots (which leaves them open for someone else who needs one); this should be the case (and many times people do not abuse the unlawful use of a placard that is not theirs), but many do use it for their own convenience (and sometimes people park in a handicap spot even without a parking placard). I have also witnessed many people just sitting in their car while occupying a handicap parking spot.
Not too long ago, I was waiting for a handicap spot to open; I watched a lady get into her car (that was parked in a handicap spot), open up a magazine, and start reading it! A couple days ago, a man (who had a red -- a temporary -- handicap placard) was parked in a handicap spot (the furthest handicap spot from the entrance) waiting for a friend. Even though he had a handicap placard, why did he have to sit in a handicap spot (his friend walked quickly to the car and seemed perfectly fine); why did he not sit and wait for his friend near the entrance? Multiple times, I have also had the car in front of me take the last handicap spot (some have placards, some do not; some seem to need the handicap space, and some do not); this is a dual problem as there are not enough handicap spots to satisfy the amount of cars with handicap placards, and at the same time, people who do not need a handicap spot take one just because they can, or as one young man defiantly proclaimed, "[w]hat?! This is a handicap spot?!", when he was questioned as to why he and his girlfriend were parked in an accessible spot without a placard. I am sorry dude, but the spots are clearly labeled with a sign in front of the spot, a large universal handicap sign painted smack in the middle of the spot, and of course they have the extra space on one, or both sides, of the car. I am legally blind, and I am able to see the labeling just fine; I am also legally not able to drive, due to my vision, so my question is, why can he get his licience, and I cannot?
Other things that I have witnessed with regards to people abusing handicap spots is a lady jumping out of her car, running into the store, then running through the store (with a cart), filling her cart to the brim, and then running back to her car after paying for her goods. Something similar to this happens at parks all the time. I love going to Boulevard Park here in Bellingham, and there are handicap spots intermittently distributed along the parking lot, so there are regular spots that are just as close (or closer) to different attractions throughout the park. I have seen people park in a handicap spot and then WALK THE BOARDWALK! If you can walk the entire boardwalk, why does it matter where you park in the parking lot? If you need a close spot, and there is a "regular spot" open right next to the handicap spot, please park in the "regular" spot. Just because you have a parking placard, does not mean you have to park in a handicap spot. Those of us in wheelchairs cannot just park in just any spot, as we need the space (and usually not the closeness).
Handicap spots are just one thing that segregates the disabled (single us out); only those with the special placard can park in the "close spots". In trying to make life easier for the disabled, the ADA actually made life a little harder by allowing businesses to segregate their parking lots. If it is okay for the handicapped to be segregated out in a simple thing like parking, then why not segregate handicap people from other things as well? Segregated parking spots also lead to segregated entrances. If the handicap spots are all clustered together at one end of the business, then it is only "reasonable"for that business to make that entrance the accessible entrance. It probably would not even cross that business' mind to make both entrances accessible. The interesting thing is, "separate, but equal" was supposed to have been outlawed in 1954 by the Brown v. Board of Education case. 
Handicap spots are a necessary evil, as people with disabilities either need a close spot or space to get in and out of their vehicle. My dream would be for every spot to have space to lower ramps, so that everyone could park anywhere. However, there is one flaw to this universal design (besides the fact that businesses could not cram as many spaces into their parking lot as they would like); those who need close spots would not be "guaranteed" one, as EVERYONE seems to want the close spots (including the handicap spots) even if they are perfectly able to walk across the parking lot. However, since there are not enough handicap spots (as of now) and people already abuse the use of handicap placards and park in the close spots, people who need close spots are not guaranteed one now. If every spot was accessible, then those of us with disabilities would no longer be segregated by having to use "separate, but equal" parking.
Most places that I have been to have their required quota of accessible spots, and some even get away without having any, but one place that I wanted to recognize is the Community Food Co-Op on Cordata here in Bellingham; they have eight handicap spots and have about thirty spots altogether. This parking lot is not completely filled with handicap spots, but about one third of them are. There is always a handicap spot open, and I hope other businesses can look toward to Co-Op as an example; no business should follow the letter of the law, but the essence of the law and cater to their clients' needs.