Disability advocates call for more funding to fix regional footpaths

Australia Broadcast Center

26-04-2025

Travelling along the footpath should be a relatively simple exercise, but for many people poorly maintained pathways pose a challenge, especially in regional centres.
Mount Gambier resident Kit Cooper said when she was able-bodied she was unaware of the issue but that changed when she was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) last May.
The genetic condition causes her heart rate to increase abnormally and can lead to dizziness, light-headedness and fainting.
Kit Cooper struggles to navigate the footpaths in Mount Gambier.
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ABC South East SA: Sam Bradbrook
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"It's easy to miss the things until it's affecting you," Ms Cooper said.
"As a part-time wheelchair user, I have become aware that a lot of the places that I used to frequent are … inaccessible without support from a carer or a partner."
Sharon Morgan, a Port Lincoln resident who had a leg amputated in 2011, said she had been forced to use the road because of badly maintained footpaths and poorly designed ramps.
Sharon Morgan is often forced to use the road because of poorly planned and maintained footpaths.
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ABC Eyre Peninsula: Tim McGlone
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"A lot of people who can get around normally can't see there being a problem," she said.
Dozens of people told the ABC of recurring issues regarding inaccessible ramps, damaged paths and concrete slabs lifted by tree roots.
Disability advocate Cyanne Westerman said such problems could increase the isolation of those living with mobility issues.
Cyanne Westerman says more needs to be done to make footpaths accessible for those with mobility issues.
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ABC North and West SA: Arj Ganesan
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Ms Westerman, who lives with limb girdle muscular dystrophy, struggles to find a usable footpath for her motorised wheelchair even when she is just outside her Whyalla home.
"I often go on the road where it's a lot smoother, but it's also dangerous because of the cars," she said.
Who is responsible?
Footpath maintenance is the responsibility of local government.
The City of Port Lincoln and Whyalla City Council both have disability access and inclusion plans that highlight footpath and ramp access as issues.
Whyalla Council's 2020-24 plan showed that almost 60 per cent of people living with a disability had difficulty accessing footpaths and ramps.
Patches of unsealed footpaths are a common sight in regional cities.
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ABC North and West SA: Arj Ganesan
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Port Lincoln mayor Diana Mislov said footpath upgrades were often tied to larger projects, which made them more likely to meet the criteria for grant funding.
"Whereas roads and footpaths and even stormwater [maintenance], to some degree, are just less attractive," she said.
Cr Mislov said there were not enough major projects to ensure the city's footpaths were adequately maintained.
State funding needed
Ms Westerman's twin sister Zia, a Whyalla councillor who shares her disability, says local governments are often tied up in "red tape" and have limited budgets.
"Local councils are doing their best," she said.
"I think it's time for someone else to step in and help them do more."
She is one of many disability advocates calling on the state government to fund upgrades to footpaths.
Whyalla City Council Mayor Phill Stone says councils are in need of state government support.
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Supplied: Whyalla City Council
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Whyalla Mayor Phill Stone said the council spent about $600,000 a year on footpath maintenance.
"If governments could establish a particular fund to give us access to extra funding, that would be a move in the right direction," he said.
A spokesperson from the Department for Infrastructure and Transport said councils were responsible for footpath maintenance, but there were various state and Commonwealth infrastructure grants they could apply for.
Councils could also access financial assistance grants by the Local Government Grants Commission, the spokesperson said.
The Local Government Association and the City of Mount Gambier Council were both contacted for comment.
Public consultation on the draft state disability inclusion plan commenced earlier this month and will close on May 15.