A parking problem in one South Florida city has police looking for new ways to slam the brakes on violators. 7’s Heather Walker investigates. For some people, parking in a handicapped space to run a quick errand is a hard no, but others see it as OK as long as it’s just a few minutes and ther e are no other spaces. But when a spot is taken up by a driver without a disability, it can cause problems. Theo Karantsalis: “Doing so denies access to those of us who rely on these spaces to shop and engage in civic life.” Theo Karantsalis has multiple sclerosis and relies on handicapped parking. He said he has come across drivers without a parking permit in those spaces many times and for long periods of time. When it happens, Theo has to decide whether to wait it out, or give up. Theo Karantsalis: “I usually circle up to three times, then go home, and I’ve gone home a lot.” Theo is a member of the Miami Springs Disability Advisory Board. He says he and his committee have seen an increase in illegal parking in the city. They decided to ask for help, in the form of a recommendation “urging the mayor and city council to take action to combat disabled parking placard misuse and fraud.” Matthew Castillo: “They were detailing that there was a lot of misuse of handicapped parking violations.” Miami Springs Police officers usually issue parking tickets as they patrol the city everyday, but after hearing from the Disability Advisory Board, they decided to form a team focused on curbing illegal parking. Matthew Castillo: “This was something that I wanted to get a team together that specializes in parking violations, which includes our public service aides and motorcycle officers, and I wanted them to dedicate a whole day to enforce the issue.” It didn’t take long for officers to start racking up violations. In just a few hours, 30 citations were issued. Twenty of those were criminal violations that can carry a $1,000 fine, or a year behind bars. Most of the violations happened in front of the businesses along Canal Street and Curtiss Parkway. Some of the drivers told officers they were running inside one of the stores for “just a minute.” Matthew Castillo: “Doesn’t matter, that one minute could have prevented someone else that needed a parking space from using it. There’s plenty of parking to go around so it’s not like there’s nowhere to park. There’s plenty to go around, they just have to walk a little bit more.” Chief Matthew Castillo says seeing so many citations in a short amount of time reveals a big problem in the small city. Matthew Castillo: “It’s pretty disappointing to me that so many violations in one day. There’s a problem and we need to keep up the enforcement because if not, people are going to take advantage as well.” Theo is happy to see his concerns being addressed so quickly by the city. Theo Karantsalis: “You have a voice and you have to exercise your voice because when you do, you’re not just helping yourself, you’re helping other people.” He hopes other cities follow Miami Springs’ lead and work to pump the brakes on illegal parking. Heather Walker, 7News. CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:[email protected] ...read more read less