A fed-up east coast man is calling on the state government to “raise penalty point” values and demanding his council take tougher action against drivers who park illegally on footpaths and median strips.
It comes amid what he described as an “illegal footpath parking epidemic” across his suburb, which he said creates an ongoing safety hazard for retirees, people with mobility issues and mothers with prams.
Noel McFarlane, from Rockhampton in Queensland, would like to be able to stroll safely down his street with his wife. But he said he, like many others, is forced to use the road.
“I’m on a relatively small street and I’ve been battling with council on this for about three and a half years,” Noel told Yahoo News Australia. “Some people have up to five cars on the footpath, and it makes it impossible to walk [safely].
“It is quite a horrendous problem here. You can go for a drive in my suburb and count over 60 cars parked on the footpath in just 15 minutes. It’s quite frightening, really.”
Queensland man Noel McFarlane said it’s difficult to walk down his street safely due to all the cars illegally parked. Source: Supplied
Calls for tougher action against illegal parking ‘epidemic’
Noel said on his block alone, three residents use wheelchairs. For them, a task as simple as moving along the street could become dangerous. “It’s an issue for people that walk along with their dogs, people in wheelchairs, on my street, there are at least three people. They’re forced to walk along the [road] … mothers with prams,” he said.
“In some cases, machinery is left on the footpath for months on end.”
The Queenslander said he’s tried to seek action from council himself, but they’ve informed him they can only act when rangers spot an offence, rather than prevent drivers from parking where they shouldn’t.
Speaking to Yahoo, Rockhampton Councillor Grant Mathers, who oversees planning and regulation, acknowledged the issue. “Council has received complaints regarding one of these areas and is currently investigating the matter,” he said.
“Generally, in response to footpath parking complaints, council takes an education approach first. Council officers speak with the vehicle owners as well as all residents in the location and advise them of the road rules in place and how parking on footpaths, bikeways or nature strips can damage infrastructure and impact accessibility and safety.
“If education fails to change residents’ parking behaviours, council then issues infringements for the offence.”
Parking on nature strips and footpaths is widespread across Australia. Source: Supplied
Figures from citizen reporting platform Snap, Send, Solve show the problem is widespread throughout Australia. Shared exclusively with Yahoo, the data reveals that reports of illegal footpath parking have totalled 15,296 incidents nationwide between January and October 2025.
Victoria recorded by far the highest number of reports, with 6,431 cases, making up more than 40 per cent of the national total. New South Wales followed with 3,635 reports, and Queensland came in third with 2,579. Western Australia logged 1,893 cases, while South Australia had 489.
The smaller states and territories recorded fewer complaints: Tasmania had 129, the Australian Capital Territory 64, and the Northern Territory just 76 across the 10 months.
Month by month, reports peaked in March (1,936) before dipping mid-year to their lowest in July (1,523). Numbers have since crept back up, with 1,673 reports in September.
CEO Danny Gorog told Yahoo that parking on footpaths “remains a persistent issue right across the country”. “Footpaths are designed for pedestrians — children, parents with prams, older residents, and people with mobility needs,” he said.
“When cars block these spaces, they put safety and accessibility at risk. We urge all drivers to do the right thing and keep our footpaths clear for the community.”
As for Noel, he would like to see stronger action taken against offenders. I absolutely think they should increase the price of penalty points, if you break the law, you pay the price. People might take a bit of notice then,” he argued. The infringement for footpath parking is currently $83.
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