Heading west along South Street after the Murdoch train station, a row of parked cars blocks verge and footpath access for pedestrians.
It is an issue that is spread across Western Australia, causing wheelchair users to attempt dangerous manoeuvres just to get down the road.
Restricting access to footpaths causes wheelchair users to attempt finding a different, often more arduous path, according to Marta Ivancic a local student with cerebral palsy, who uses a wheelchair for support.
“It’s my worst nightmare (a blocked footpath) to come across,” Ms Ivancic said.
“I immediately feel stuck, and it adds another thing to my list.”
“I must figure out a new path to get to wherever I’m going. It makes my stomach drop.”
According to the City of Melville, a violation for parking across a footpath is $110. Its website states: “no portion of a parked vehicle is permitted to be on, over or in front of a footpath, as per section 2.6(2) of the City of Melville Parking Local Law 2023”.
The City of Melville did not provide answers to questions, which included whether anyone had been fined.
Access to footpaths is important to ensure people with disabilities can move through and freely along public roads, when this access is taken away it can lead to issues engaging with community.
This issue has only gotten worse according to Murdoch University lecturer John Swinbank.
“When I’ve been driving past in the morning it’s always jam-packed down to the traffic lights,” Mr Swinbank said.
“I haven’t seen any parking tickets being given out.”
“It looks very perilous there, I couldn’t see how you could navigate through it.”
The cost for parking at nearby Fiona Stanley Hospital is $3 per hour and at St John of God Murdoch it is $4 per hour.
At nearby Murdoch University, parking scratchies that cost $5 per day and is a 10-minute walk away, providing another option for commuters to park nearby.
The stretch of road that is being parked along has a speed limit of 70km/h, creating danger for motorist who are driving along South St.