Controlling Illegal Parking in Spaces Reserved for the Physically Disabled

Abstract

Messages announcing the possibility of community intervention and the time of its occurrence were used to examine illegal parking in spaces reserved for the disabled, during specified and nonspecified time periods. Observations were recorded during two consecutive 1-hour shifts (4:00 to 5:00 p.m. and 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.). An ABACA reversal design was used at Space 1 and an ABACAB reversal design was used for Spaces 2 and 3. A sign was used to indicate that either the 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. (B) or the 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. (C) shift was under observation. Although the results from Space 1 showed the same pattern as found in Spaces 2 and 3, they were not statistically significant. These findings suggest that illegal parking was probably controlled more by the content of the message than by the increased salience resulting from the addition of a secondary message sign.