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DISTRICT

City settles suit over parking meters

D.C. officials promised yesterday to make parking meters easier to use as part of a settlement of a lawsuit, filed in 2004, that said the city discriminated against people with disabilities.

The agreement requires the city to install, on each metered block, at least two parking meters that face the sidewalk and that are low enough for someone in a wheelchair. Also, each city block must have at least one curb ramp for wheelchairs. On city-owned sidewalks, uneven surfaces must be fixed and obstacles such as flower pots must be removed.

Russell Holt, one of the plaintiffs, said he was pleased.

"In the land of frivolous lawsuits, this is one that so many people are going to benefit from," he said.

Mr. Holt, a disabled business owner from Boyds, said he frequently travels to the District for work and joined the lawsuit after growing frustrated with the seemingly endless search for a place to park.

"It's tough to find a [parking] spot, and it's even tougher to find a spot that's accessible," he said.

The Equal Rights Center, which represented some of the disabled residents in the lawsuit, said it is pleased with the settlement.

The lawsuit argued that city meters were impossible for some veterans to reach, and it demanded that the city recognize out-of-state handicapped parking placards rather than forcing visitors to apply for city permits.