An Aldi spokesman said it was not company policy to leave trolleys in disabled parking spots and apologised for the "error".
"We have since flagged this incident nationally, to ensure that external trolley collection companies hired by Aldi adhere to our policies and do not store trolleys in areas that inconvenience the community," the spokesman said.
Trollies stored in a disabled parking space at Aldi at Glenmore Park Town Centre this month.
Photo: Australian disability parking wall of shame Facebook groupPhysical Disability Council NSW chief executive Serena Ovens said drivers taking disabled parking spaces illegally “is an absolute everyday routine” despite fines above $500 and one demerit point.
"We see a similar thing with accessible bathrooms in restaurants and shopping centres; they’re often used as storage spaces instead of as a toilet and it is unacceptable," Ms Ovens said.
“When people prioritise their own needs, it is pure selfishness and a lack of understanding. There are not enough accessible parking spaces at the moment even for the people that do need them.
“We need to drive public awareness about why accessible parking spaces are there and the fact that people can’t make a judgment based on what they see … many people have hidden disabilities that are not manifested in a physical way.
"Some of my girlfriends are wheelchair users who need those accessible car spaces to be able to get out and, if they go down to the local shops and they can’t access an accessible space, they have to abort their shopping trip and come back at a different time because they can’t get out of a normal car space."
A ute with a trailer parked illegally across four disabled parking spaces earlier this month.
Photo: Australian disability parking wall of shame Facebook groupWilloughby Council, which covers the Chatswood postcode area, where 3891 fines for parking illegally in a disabled space have been issued since July 2014, said it had uncovered "widespread misuse" of Mobility Parking Scheme cards.
The CBD postcode area was the second-ranked place for illegal parking in disabled spaces with 2735 fines issued since July 2014.
A City of Sydney spokeswoman said Roads and Maritime Services gave the council a list of Mobility Parking Scheme permits that have been revoked or cancelled and its rangers check displayed permits against this list on their devices.
In the past three years, across the entire City of Sydney council area, rangers have issued 3920 penalty notices to vehicles parked in a disabled parking space without a valid permit, she said.
Physical Disability Council of NSW board president Chris Sparks has been in a wheelchair since he was injured in an accident as a child and has been driving for 54 years.
Physical Disability Council of NSW board president Chris Sparks.
Photo: Supplied“I’ve learnt to rely on a motor car. I live in a regional area – Bega – and we have no accessible public transport, so my only way of getting around and participating is by driving," Mr Sparks said.
“The frustration [of people taking disabled parking spaces] is it impinges your ability to be independent and get out and about and go about your business."
Mr Sparks said there were many ways that disabled people dealt with the issue.
“My mate Bill, who broke his back at the speedway, is a bit out there. If he found someone in an accessible parking space without a permit, he would simply park within two centimetres of their bumper bar, and go about his business," Mr Sparks said. “He was often being paged in shopping centres, ‘Can the owner of a mini moke please come ... ’ and there’d be some irate individual.
"He famously did that at the opening of [a] state sports centre to the government’s VIP car!”
But this is a serious issue, too, because people get trapped, Mr Sparks said.
“People with drop-down lifts [for a wheelchair] have signs all over the back saying please don’t park within 1.5 metres, because that’s how they get in and out of the car, and they are forever getting some jackass parking straight up their clacker.
"I also think that there’s a lot of permits out there which, maybe, should not have been issued and that then overloads disabled parking spaces and then that’s further compounded by the inevitable able-bodied driver who doesn’t give two hoots."
The NSW government added a demerit point penalty in December 2014 but the numbers have kept rolling along since then.
If you suspect someone is misusing a disability permit, call the Mobility Parking Scheme on 1300 884 899.
Nigel Gladstone is The Sydney Morning Herald's data journalist.
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