For Clément Badra, accessible parking isn’t just a convenience — it’s a necessity.

The Montreal man, who lives with a spinal cord injury, says when drivers park in reserved spaces or too close to his adapted vehicle, even simple outings can become difficult.

“What happens is that I won’t be able to get in my car, so that means I have to wait for the person to get back to their car, and I don’t know how long it’s gonna take,” said Badra. “So it creates frustration because you’re not free with your time.”

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At Marche Central on Tuesday, advocates, city officials and mobility organizations gathered to raise awareness about the importance of accessible parking spaces and why it’s crucial not to park too close to the space so that wheelchair users can safely enter and exit their cars.

“It’s not just for two minutes that we go in, buy something at the corner store, come out and it’s fine,” said Gerlando Guarraggi, borough councillor in Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles. “The space is reserved there for those people. I think we could take the extra 30 steps and park a little bit further.”

The reminder comes as thousands of tickets continue to be handed out each year.

Officials say roughly 14,000 fines are issued annually in Montreal for illegally using accessible spots, carrying penalties of more than $400.

“People don’t mean to do bad, but the reality is when you don’t know other people’s reality, you don’t pay attention to it,” said Badra. “So that’s why raising awareness is important.”

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