open #204557
Inaccessible Parking
1200 W 12th ST
- Case Date:
- 7/28/2025
I am 62 years old, and this time last year I was just getting back to work after 3 1/2 months rest healing from a broken ankle. When I moved in to 1200 W 12th St, I noticed the sign (photo #1). I even asked Bloomington Housing Authority about it. They said it would be okay to park in front of my apartment. I have been parking in front of my apartment since March 2024. No tickets, no problems. It made it very easy to get to my apartment - load or unload my car - and I could keep an eye on it while in my apartment. Today I get home from work (I work full time at IU as a custodian. Yes - I work FULL TIME and still need Section 8 to get a place to live) to see fresh paint denying me my usual parking spot. I had an ADA tag for a while, but it was temporary. It expired. The problem is: I can’t see my car now unless I get up and look through the one window that lets me see my car. If I have to park farther away, I won’t be able to see it at all, and I will have to walk farther and across the street to access my car. I am old, diabetic, autistic and cannot walk a far as I could before the broken ankle. After work, it is very common for my right ankle to be aching on top of the Diabetic Neuropthy I have in both feet in addition to my jangled nerves from interacting with people and handling emergencies. This neighborhood can get a bit sketchy sometimes - it helped my normally high anxiety level to be able to see my car. My anxiety is already high from people walking so close to my apartment and cutting through my yard - can’t do anything about that so I live with that anxiety. I don’t want to break the law, but this is so unfair! I already pay $828 a month for this tiny apartment - that is ONE WHOLE PAYCHECK. My rent is figured as 30% of my GROSS income. I pay quite a bit for my taxes and Insurance, and I have quite a few medical issues so I have to scramble sometimes to get bills paid and pay for all the drugs I have to take. I live paycheck to paycheck. I have to work so I have health Insurance. Even though I am 62, I can’t get Social Security if I want to live here because it would price me out of Section 8 and I would have to move (AGAIN - I just moved in here a year and a half ago). I can’t work less because i need Insurance from work until I reach 65 and can get Medicare (if it still exists by then). If I have to park further away, then my ankle will be that much more achy when I get home. I’m going to see if maybe I can qualify for a permanent ADA Tag, but even then the 4 HOUR LIMIT would kick me in the butt. That doesn’t even take into account bad weather days or having to walk farther with loads. Where I am currently parked in photo #7 would be a better ADA space. Usually no one parks there, and it is closer to the Boys and Girls Club. Please help me.