Chris Thiele wants more disabled parking at Yarra Ranges footy grounds

A Mt Evelyn man became so fed-up with struggling to find a disabled parking spot at footy grounds in the Yarra Ranges, he decided to put up his own signs. Now he wants the council and other clubs to jump on board with the idea.

Chris and Wendy Thiele are fighting for all sports grounds in Yarra Ranges to have disabled parking. Picture: Ellen Smith

A Mt Evelyn man is campaigning for more disabled parking at footy grounds across the Yarra Ranges.

Chris Thiele and his wife Wendy visit various grounds most weekends to watch their grandchildren play footy, and often struggle to find a disabled spot.

Mrs Thiele suffers from chronic back pain and has had operations on her spine.

She can’t walk very far, so the couple always try and park as close to the ground as possible, ideally in a spot where she can see the field from their car.

Mr Thiele said it was frustrating most grounds had no designated area for disabled parking.

He said a coffee van was even parked over disabled spots when they visited a recent ground.

“If we can’t find a park close to the ground, I have to help (my wife) out of the car, help her with her mobility crutches, then go back and try and find a parking spot, and then come back and pick her up at a later stage,” Mr Thiele said.

“It’s just simply not fair.”

Mr Thiele said he had bought two disabled parking signs and put them up at the Mt Evelyn ground to indicate an area was for disabled parking only.

He said the signs were working well, and encouraged Yarra Ranges Council and other clubs to consider putting them up at other grounds.

“It only needs to be a temporary sign, it costs about $35, and you can screw it onto a pole,” Mr Thiele said.

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Yarra Ranges Council environment and engineering director Mark Varmalis said when its sporting pavilions came up for redevelopment, staff worked to ensure formal disabled parking spaces were included in the works.

Mr Varmalis said disabled parking had been established at reserves in Olinda, South Belgrave, Monbulk, Kilsyth and at the Upwey Tecoma Community Recreation and Sporting Hub.

He said not all of councils sporting pavilions offered formalised parking, and many still had gravel areas designated for parking.

Mr Varmalis said parking at most of councils’ recreation reserves on football game days was managed by local sporting clubs.