[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Meeting of the Town of Sharon as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parades and processions — See Ch. 200.
Streets, sidewalks and public places — See Ch. 235.
[Adopted as Art. 10, § 31, of the Town Bylaws]
A. 
Any person or body that has lawful control of a public or private enclosed property used as off-street parking areas for businesses, shopping malls, theaters, auditoriums, sporting or recreational facilities, cultural centers, residential dwellings, or for any other place where the public has a right of access as invitees or licensees, is required to reserve parking spaces in said off-street parking areas for any vehicle owned and operated by a disabled veteran or handicapped person whose vehicle bears the distinguishing license plate authorized by MGL c. 90, § 2, or for any vehicle transporting a handicapped person and displaying the special identification plate authorized by MGL c. 90, § 2, or for any vehicle bearing the official identification of handicapped person issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province.
B. 
The number of handicapped spaces required in each off-street parking area shall be determined according to the requirements found in 521 CMR 23.
C. 
Parking spaces designated as reserved under the above provisions shall be identified by the use of above-grade signs with white lettering against a blue background and shall bear the words "Handicapped Parking; Special Plate Required. Unauthorized Vehicles May be Removed at Owner's Expense"; shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway; shall be adjacent to curb ramps or other unobstructed methods permitting sidewalk access to a handicapped person; and shall be at least eight feet wide, not including the cross-hatched access aisle as defined by the Architectural Access Board established in MGL c. 22, § 13A. The cross-hatched access aisle abutting a handicapped parking space shall be considered part of the handicapped parking space to which it abuts to provide individuals who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids with sufficient space to enter and exit their vehicles. No person shall park in the cross-hatched access aisle.
No vehicle shall be removed from any parking spaces designated as reserved under the above provisions unless the person who has lawful control of such property has notified the Sharon Chief of Police or his/her designee. Such notification shall be made before any such vehicle shall be removed, and shall be in writing unless otherwise specified by the Chief of Police and shall include the address from which the vehicle is to be removed, the address to which the vehicle is to be removed, the registration number of the vehicle, the name of the person in lawful control of the property from which such vehicle is being removed and the name of the person or company or other business entity removing the vehicle. Vehicles so removed shall be stored in a convenient location. Neither the Town nor the Chief of Police shall be liable for any damages incurred during the removal or storage of any such vehicle removed under this bylaw.
No person shall leave an unauthorized vehicle within parking spaces designated for use by disabled veterans or handicapped persons as authorized above or in such manner as to obstruct a curb ramp designed for use by handicapped persons as a means of egress to a street or public way.
A. 
The Select Board, pursuant to the authority contained in MGL c. 40, § 22A, shall further regulate the parking of vehicles on ways within the control of the Town by restricting certain areas thereon for the parking of any vehicle owned and driven by a disabled veteran or handicapped person whose vehicle bears the distinctive number plates authorized by MGL c. 90, § 2, or for any vehicle transporting a handicapped person and displaying the special parking identification plate authorized by said MGL c. 90, § 2, or for any vehicle bearing the official identification of a handicapped person issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province, or by prohibiting the parking or standing of any vehicles in such a manner as to obstruct any curb ramp designed for use by handicapped persons. Parking spaces designated as reserved under the provisions of this section shall be identified by the use of above-grade blue signs with white lettering against a blue background and shall bear the words "Handicapped Parking: Special Plate Required Unauthorized Vehicles May Be Removed at Owner's Expense"; shall be as near as possible to a building entrance or walkway; shall be adjacent to curb ramps or other unobstructed methods permitting sidewalk access to a handicapped person; and shall be at least eight feet wide, not including the cross-hatched access aisle as defined by the Architectural Access Board established in MGL c. 22, § 13A. The cross-hatched access aisle abutting a handicapped parking space shall be considered part of the handicapped parking space to which it abuts to provide individuals who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids with sufficient space to enter and exit their vehicles. No person shall park in the cross-hatched access aisle. The cost of acquisition, installation and maintenance and operation of any signs or other regulatory devices used to designate such restricted areas shall be considered as a necessary expense for the regulation of parking and shall be paid from appropriations authorized by this bylaw.
B. 
No person or owner of any vehicle shall park or leave a vehicle in a space on a public way designated as above authorized as a "Handicapped Parking Space" unless the vehicle bears the distinctive number plates, or displays the special parking identification plate authorized by MGL c. 90, § 2, or bears the official identification of handicapped persons issued by any other state, or any Canadian Province.
The penalty for violation of the foregoing §§ 248-4 and/or 248-5 shall be $50 for each offense. Each day shall be a separate offense; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the removal, in accordance with the provisions of MGL c. 266, § 120D, of any vehicle which is in violation of this bylaw, and provided, further, that nothing herein shall be construed as prohibiting the enforcement of any of the foregoing sections pursuant to Chapter 1, Article I, § 1-2, of the General Bylaws and the provisions of MGL c. 40, § 21D.
[Adopted as Art. 10, § 32, of the Town Bylaws]
It shall be unlawful to obstruct or block a private way with a vehicle or any other means so as to prevent access by fire apparatus, fire equipment, ambulance service or police cruisers to any multiple-family building, stores, shopping centers, schools and places of public assembly.
It shall be unlawful to obstruct or park a vehicle in any public safety lane, such public safety lanes to be designated by the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of Police and posted as such. Said public safety lanes shall be a distance of 12 feet from the curbing of a sidewalk in a shopping center, apartment complexes and similar locations. Where no sidewalk with curbing exists, the distance and locations shall be established by the Chief of the Fire Department and the Chief of the Police Department.
Any object or vehicle obstructing or blocking any public safety lane or private way may be removed or towed by the Town under the direction of a police officer at the expense of the owner and without liability on the part of either the Town or its Chief of Police or his designee; provided that in the case of the removal of a vehicle, such removal shall take place only after there has been compliance with the provisions of MGL c. 266, § 120D, as the same may hereafter be amended.
The owner of record of any building affected by these sections shall provide and install signs and road markings as provided in § 248-8 of this article. Said signs shall be no less than 12 inches by 18 inches and shall read "Public Safety Lane - No Parking-Tow Zone."
Any person violating any of the provisions of this bylaw shall be punished by a fine, established under the provisions of MGL c. 90, § 20A 1/2, $50 if paid to the Town's Parking Clerk within 21 days, $55 if paid thereafter but before the Parking Clerk reports to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles as provided in MGL c. 90, § 20A 1/2, and $75 if paid thereafter.