Disability parking abuse at Ohio State has declined this quarter because of efforts by Transportation and Parking Services. Students with temporary disabilities were required in September to park on West Campus and use a shuttle-bus to drive them to their classes, said Sarah Blouch, director of OSU’s Transportation and Parking Services.In July, the transportation services made the decision to move temporary disability parking to West Campus fall quarter because students abused the privilege and took away parking spaces from those who needed them, Blouch said.’A lot of people were getting notes from their doctors saying that they required temporary disability parking and were using it for convenience rather than health reasons,’ Blouch said.In September, there were 412 permanent decals sold to students, faculty and staff leaving a slim margin for those with temporary disabilities, Blouch said. Therefore, the $100 fine for unauthorized parking in a disability space is strictly enforced.’It is our most expensive fine,’ Blouch said. ‘If a student needs to run something into a building they have a choice to park elsewhere, but someone with a disability doesn’t.’A focus group in Blouch’s office looked at the problem and decided to make the change, she said. The move satisfied the needs of those who genuinely needed the service and were willing to park on West Campus and ride a shuttle to their classes, Blouch said.’Those who were abusing the temporary parking decals for convenience could no longer park next to their classroom and didn’t want to drive to West Campus and take a shuttle, so it really helped to clear more spaces for those who needed it,’ Blouch said.Jim Baker, academic coordinator for OSU’s Office for Disability Services, said that there are 1,050 students with permanent disabilities.Blouch said about 546 reserved spaces campus-wide accommodate those with both permanent and temporary disabilities.