Astros fans left wondering where accessible spots are around the ballpark ahead of Opening Day

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Some Astros fans are yelling foul ahead of the season opener, not because of the team, but because of missing handicap spaces near the ballpark.

George Ware is used to making cuts. The hairstylist works in a studio downtown. But he's baffled about one cut he's spotted on city streets.

"I put a placard up, and I got a ticket anyway," Ware recalled.

Ware parked in a spot on Texas Avenue near San Jacinto Street, a street that recently went through a pavement project.

Before that, he says the end spots near the ramps were handicap spaces. After the project ended, the handicap signs were gone.

"There were a lot of them, but when they started repaving and started redirecting a lot of those parking areas, they changed those and never put the signs back up," Ware said.

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Right now, paid parking is enforced between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., which leaves 13 hours of free parking, and all-day free parking on Sundays and holidays. However, the proposal suggest

ABC13 asked city officials about the Texas Avenue spots but didn't receive an answer.

However, we did see a change when we asked about a map. On the city's website, there was a map showing where handicap spots were downtown.

An Eyewitness News crew took the map downtown and drove around. They found a dozen blocks, all near the ballpark, where handicap spots were missing.

After we started asking questions, the city removed the map. A spokesperson told us it's outdated, and they're working on a new one.

As for the missing handicap spots, we're told they've been relocated, but they didn't say where to.

"It's important to have those because if you're needing the extra space to open the door, you can't when there's an F-450 truck parked there with the mirrors out and you've got to get out of your vehicle," Ware explained.

Ware hopes those spaces weren't cut because the stylist relies on them and would prefer not to get tickets.

ABC13 asked to talk to someone from the city's parking department about the handicapped spaces, and a spokesperson sent the following statement:

"From time to time, the City must relocate accessible parking spots for various reasons, assuring that plenty of parking is always available and convenient. For instance, in 2016, the commercial construction at 500 Crawford resulted in the loss of ADA spaces, but the City required the developer to allow Minute Maid Park visitors to have access to ADA spaces in its parking garage for free. We remind the public to always look for signage designating the spot as accessible before parking their vehicle. The City was notified about an outdated map on the website indicating accessible spots that have since been relocated. That map has been removed and will be updated with the current configuration. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

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