Residents of Stawell, a small town, are raising concerns about the condition of footpaths that hinder accessibility for many community members. Evelyn Henderson and Kim Hunt have been vocal about the cracked and uneven walkways, which they say pose risks, especially for the elderly and disabled. "We've got a lot of disabled people and elderly people that have fallen over [due to] broken concrete," Henderson stated. "It can be very frustrating when the community is not always accessible."

Henderson and Hunt have initiated efforts to highlight the issue. They encourage residents to report problematic footpaths using the Snap, Send & Solve app and have created posters to raise awareness. They have also engaged with local officials, including the mayor of the Northern Grampians Shire Council, to discuss their project aimed at repairing the footpaths. "We all decided that we wanted our first project to be to get the footpaths fixed," Hunt said.

Despite their efforts, the maintenance of footpaths is often deprioritized due to budget constraints faced by local councils. Jennifer Anderson, president of the Municipal Association of Victoria, explained that funding from the state government has decreased, limiting the resources available for local councils. "Sometimes councils do have to make a hard decision to not fund certain things in certain years or to stop providing particular services," she said.

Anderson emphasized that while councils are required to have health and well-being plans, they need additional financial support from state and federal governments to ensure community safety and accessibility. "Being the closest level of government to the community, we know best the priorities of our community and we can spend money very effectively," she added.

The responsibility for building and maintaining footpaths primarily falls on local governments. However, determining which projects to prioritize can be complex. Bridget Wetherall, director of infrastructure and environment for the City of Ballarat, noted that councils consider factors such as access to key destinations, existing network gaps, community reliance on walking, and equity when prioritizing footpath maintenance.

This financial year, the Ballarat council has increased its budget for new footpaths from $1 million to $1.7 million, while maintaining its footpath maintenance budget at $1 million. Henderson hopes that their advocacy will foster greater understanding among residents about the challenges faced by those with disabilities. "Hopefully, people that don't have a disability will be able to understand what we are doing to help the community and understand a bit more about some of the issues that we face," she said.