A downtown Toronto councillor is once again calling for action to address reports from residents that some drivers are abusing and misusing accessible parking permits.“We are actively turning parking into housing, so the amount of parking that’s available is decreasing. At the same time, there’s a lot of construction, and so what we’re finding is rampant abuse of accessible permits,” Coun. Dianne Saxe, who represents Ward 11 University-Rosedale, told CityNews while showcasing an area with complaints off Davenport Road.“We need action. For the last three years, the staff are telling me there’s nothing they can do. Their hands are tied. They need to change the bylaw.”Saxe said her office is receiving calls from constituents about delivery workers who have picked up items at restaurants, as well as people who work at construction sites sporting the permits.Related:Ontarians can now apply for, renew accessible parking permits online“The typical thing we hear is … ‘We’ve had regular gig workers all these years, everything, they’ve just parked beside the street.’ Now that there’s a no-parking zone there, the same people are showing up, and now they have accessible permits on their dash,” she said.“We hear, ‘Oh, 14 construction workers just showed up in their trucks. They get out of their truck, they slap a disabled permit on the dash, they pick up their toolbox and off they go to build a condo building.'” “There are hidden disabilities, I understand that, but this pattern looks like concentrated abuse.”Under the City of Toronto parking rules, there are multiple exemptions for people who have accessible parking permits issued by the Ontario government:Paying at on-street meter spots during permitted hoursStaying beyond city-wide three-hour parking limitsParking beyond time limits (e.g. one- or two-hour maximum limits)Staying at signed prohibited parking areas (but no exemptions for morning and evening rush-hour routes)Parking in signed, on-street permit parking areasAccording to 2022 Ontario government figures, there were approximately 770,000 accessible parking permits being used by motorists. Saxe said that the figure now sits at around 840,000.CityNews contacted three Ontario ministries with oversight over accessible parking permits, transportation, and accessibility to ask about the issues raised and the permitting process, but has yet to receive a response. During a recent brief tour in parts of University-Rosedale, CityNews didn’t see any obvious examples of potential abuse or misuse.David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee and host of the Disability Rights and Wrongs: The David Lepodcast podcast, said there is a strong and legitimate need for accessible parking permits, but added the rules need tightening and consistency across Ontario.Related:Toronto looking to crack down on misuse of accessible parking permits“This is a serious problem, and it’s not just an inconvenience. It may be the difference between being able to work, getting where you want to go, or not getting there at all,” he told CityNews.“What we need is a more systemic solution. Yeah, it’s good to have fines, but we need effective law enforcement … we also need circumstances where we can prove or allege misuse of these (permits). That may involve creating a new penalty, creating a new offence for the fraudulent misuse of one of these permits by someone who doesn’t need it.”Lepofsky said authorities and residents need to be careful about jumping to conclusions when they see someone using an accessible parking permit.“There are times when people without disabilities in good faith see and object to someone using a disability parking spot because they don’t see that they have a cane or a wheelchair, that may be somebody who is a senior who can only walk a certain distance, and they’re perfectly entitled to use the spot,” he said. “It’s important to realize that some disabilities that perfectly and properly entitle you to use the spot are not visible.”Related:‘Get it fixed, get it done:’ TTC riders raise Eglinton Crosstown accessibility issuesMeanwhile, Saxe said she is concerned with the lengthy time it is taking to try to tackle this issue. She said the report has been delayed multiple times, adding it was set to come back to council in 2025. She said she got a written commitment that it would come forward in February, but that didn’t happen.During a recent committee meeting, her request to direct staff to bring forward the report was pushed back to June due to a last-minute request for additional consultation with the Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee.“We have an aging population. There are more and more people who, as they get older, will need accessible permits. There are very few places for those people to park,” Saxe said.“Abuse of those spaces really damages some of the more vulnerable people among us. It needs to stop.”