Brigitte Kendall has been living in the Ballarat area since 2014 and uses a mobility aid to walk.
Each day CBD workers park end-to-end along her street and the 62-year old regularly returns to the car park at the back of her boarding house complex to find someone has parked in her private space.
It forces her to move her car further away from home into a four-hour parking zone before making the uncomfortable walk back.
With no short-term disability car parks on the residential street, Ms Kendall said she had been asking the Ballarat council and her building management to find a solution for the past two years.
She said she was tired and frustrated after more than two years of lobbying for a change to parking processes on her busy street.
"I then have to go around to the back of my car, get my walker out of the back, and because leaves had dropped off trees and onto the ground … the ground [is] very slippery, and I had to hang on to stay upright," Ms Kendall said.
"We had works going on here – the workmen couldn't park at the front, so I'd come home and they'd be in my park out the back.
Worn out by the fight
Ms Kendall said she was tired of fighting so hard for change for so long.
"Taxi services, maintenance, visitors – it goes on, and on, and on," she said.
"And cars park [on the street] for more than four hours … and nothing is ever done about it.
Ms Kendall said she had seen more drivers park in her private car park since four-hour parking restrictions were put in place.
In April 2018 the City of Ballarat brought in free parking for accessible parking permit holders, which allows eligible residents to park in any type of car park that meets their needs, if there is street parking available.
Ballarat council chief executive Evan King told the ABC the council understood the importance of accessible parking.
"Currently the City of Ballarat does not provide disability parks in residential areas," he said.
"However, we accept and welcome feedback on parking and continue to consider variations to the parking configuration based on identified needs in various locations."
Ms Kendall said it was not just at home that parking was an issue, but also at her local shops where she often had problems accessing disability parking because of non-permit drivers parking in the vital spaces.
Accessibility an issue for everyone
Council of the Ageing president Ian Yates said Ms Kendall's story was about accessibility and independence for a rapidly ageing population.
"Being an age-friendly community isn't just something local government needs to do, but everyone needs to think about," he said.
"Keeping people independent for as long as possible enables them to keep contributing to their community and keeps them active, and healthier, longer."
Mr Yates said it was up to the community to work with the council to think about the consequences of something as seemingly "harmless" as parking for five minutes in a disability permit park.
