Terry Engle, 62, suffers from nerve damage in his right foot and leg that makes walking extremely difficult.

"I can't walk flat on my foot. I walk on my heel," he said.Because he can't drive, his wife Sharlene takes the wheel when they go out.In 2006, on the advice of his doctor, the state granted the Bowmanstown man a blue-and-white plastic tag bearing the symbol of a wheelchair. The placard hangs from his rearview mirror and allows him to use spaces reserved for people with handicaps. The couple also has a reserved spot in front of their home, granted by the borough.The placard has made life much easier."It helps when you go grocery shopping. We can park close to the door," Engle says.Engle is among a growing number of Pennsylvania people who have the parking tags, issued by the state Department of Transportation.According to PennDOT, the number of permanent tags issued has gone from 746,259 to 875,490, or by 17.3 percent, between 2008 and 2013.Why the jump?PennDOT can't say why the increase in the numbers. There have been no changes in state law that would have led to a change, said spokeswoman Jan T. McKnight.But most placards are issued to older people, and Pennsylvania is riding the crest of a wave of an aging population.In 2013, about 2.08 million, or 16.3 percent, of the state's residents were age 65 or older, according to the Pennsylvania State Data Center. In 2008, the number was about 1.9 million, or 15.3 percent.Reserved spacesAlong with the tags, those who are disabled may ask their towns for reserved spaces in front of their homes.The rules on reserved spaces vary from town to town. Applicants fill out a form, which is signed by their doctor. Town leaders then approve or reject the request.The increase in requests for the reserved spaces is straining the resources of some small towns, where parking is already at a premium.Summit Hill, which currently has 17 spaces reserved for handicapped parking on residential streets, saw the number of applications for the spots go from 14 to 20 last year."That is a big jump for us. We usually have renewals each year with maybe one or two new applicants," said borough secretary/treasurer Kira Steber.In Palmerton, Borough Manager Rodger P. Danielson said 31 spots are currently reserved for handicapped parking. Over the past five years, the borough has approved 14 applications and denied nine."We try to keep as many parking spaces available to as many people as we can. Sometimes parking downtown can be at a premium," he said. "We try to be very aware of everybody's needs."But in Jim Thorpe, don't think that reserved spot is just for you, says borough Police Chief Joseph Schatz."You apply for and get one, and say your neighbor has someone visiting who is handicapped. If they have the proper placard, they can park there," he says. "They can use it. It's not a private parking spot."Following the lawIn 2012, LA Lakers center Andrew Bynum caused an uproar when he was caught on camera straddling his BMW across two parking spots reserved for the handicapped at a market in Playa del Rey, California.Almost every person who uses a placard has had the experience of watching one of the few parking spaces marked for handicapped use be taken by a person who appears to be able bodied.Warren Searfoss of Beltzville is one of them. He began using a placard after a motorcycle crash in 1996 left him disabled."I know of some people who borrow their uncle's car or placard to go shopping just to get to the good spots," he says.Searfoss, who uses his placard only on days when his injuries flare, recalls a recent incident in which he confronted the driver of a pickup who parked in a reserved space without a placard.The man told him he had just dropped off his mother to go shopping. Searfoss advised him to apply for a placard for her."He said she doesn't drive. I told him it doesn't matter, that if she is disabled she can still get a placard. But it can only be used when she is in the car," Searfoss says.Terry Engle has had similar experiences."I've seen these people get out of their cars and run into the store. Last week, three young kids got out of a car in the handicap space," he said.Rocco Iacullo of the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania says it's tough for police to enforce laws governing who can use the placards."It's an amorphous issue that people think might be a problem, but can't really be proved," he says. "It's difficult. People maybe suspect (illegal use) without evidence. There are a lot of people with so-called 'invisible' disabilities, like cardiac conditions."However, falsifying a form to get a placard carries heavy fines, he says.As does parking in a reserved space without a placard, Schatz says.And those metered reserved spaces in commercial districts, such as Broadway in Jim Thorpe?"You still have to feed that meter, just like a regular one," he says. "But because it's a handicap parking place, we'll extend the time by one hour."Schatz says the borough increased the fine for violating the placard law to $75 several years ago."Now, there's not much of a problem with violators," he says. "It seems to deter people from parking in the handicapped places."If someone calls police for what they believe is a violation, officers will check for a tag."You have to have your placard properly displayed in the window," Schatz says. "If there is none, we'll issue the fine."By the numbersThe total number of permanent handicapped parking placards issued by Pennsylvania has grown over the last five years, according to these numbers from the state Department of Transportation:2008: 746,2592013: 875,490129,231 (a 17.3 percent increase)2008:Carbon: Permanent: 5,198; severely disabled: 5; motorcycle: 5; temporary: 44. TOTAL: 5,252Schuylkill: Permanent: 11,290; severely disabled: 11; motorcycle: 4; temporary: 56. TOTAL: 11,361Monroe: Permanent: 10,173; severely disabled: 9; motorcycle: 6; temporary: 122. TOTAL: 10,310Lehigh: Permanent: 17,649; severely disabled: 7; motorcycle: 4; temporary: 220. TOTAL: 17,880Northampton: Permanent: 19,380; severely disabled: 13; motorcycle: 3; temporary: 247. TOTAL: 19,6432013:Carbon: Permanent: 6,232 (up 19.89 percent); severely disabled: 5; motorcycle: 5; temporary: 30. TOTAL: 6,272Schuylkill: Permanent: 13,199 (up 16.9 percent); severely disabled: 11; motorcycle: 4; temporary: 48. TOTAL: 13,262Monroe: Permanent: 12,562 (up 23.58 percent); severely disabled: 6; motorcycle: 6; temporary: 110. TOTAL: 12,684Lehigh: Permanent: 21,213 (up 20 percent); severely disabled: 4 motorcycle: 4; temporary: 273. TOTAL: 21,494Northampton: Permanent: 23,510 (up 21.3 percent); severely disabled: 9; motorcycle: 3; temporary: 248. TOTAL: 23,770