COEUR d'ALENE - Jim Ackerman didn't make the trip to downtown Coeur d'Alene very often last summer.

The lack of parking spots close to Sherman Avenue businesses was enough to keep the 68-year-old Ackerman - who is recovering from hip surgery - away.

Before the summer months, Ackerman said, there were multiple options for parking for those with disabilities both on Sherman Avenue and its intersecting streets. However, according to interim City Administrator Troy Tymesen, renovations to downtown streets triggered compliance issues with updated Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines that forced the city to remove the spots.

"I understand why they might have that kind of policy in other cities, but we're talking about the small town of Coeur d'Alene," Ackerman said. "Unfortunately there's quite a few people my age that need the handicapped parking close to the stores or businesses they are trying to get to."

Handicapped spots were relocated to the McEuen Park structure. But for Ackerman and others, the distance from the new parking structure to downtown businesses creates new challenges.

"That's a long ways to go. Especially if you're on crutches or in a wheelchair," Ackerman said. "They (city officials) basically said there wasn't anything they could do about it. I appreciate them doing that nice structure for parking, for regular people that's fine. But for a handicap, that's a long ways to go. A lot of people don't notice this issue because they don't have to worry about it."

Tymesen told The Press that he talked at length with Ackerman about the issue, which he said boils down to a lack of real estate. The new regulations, according to Tymesen, require handicapped parking spaces to be wider and have curb access that downtown Coeur d'Alene can't currently meet.

"You cannot get an ADA-compliant parking space on Sherman when you remodel it," Tymesen said. "As we went in and did the improvements on the side streets, we found out they weren't compliant either (for handicapped parking spots)."

However, according to Tymesen, the city has a long-standing policy of allowing individuals with handicapped parking placards to park wherever they can on streets like Sherman Avenue.

"We will not ticket you," Tymesen said. "You can park there for eight hours and we will not ticket you for that."

"What good is my pass if I can't find parking places?" Ackerman said in response to the policy. "At least when you've got parking that says 'handicap only' you've got a chance. There's a possibility."