It might have taken some time, but governments eventually realised the importance of giving all citizens the dignity of accessing community buildings.

Historic halls have been retrofitted to have ramps and wider entryways, and all new builds must provide disability access.

Yet this still appears to be a work in progress, with some sites falling through the cracks.

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This was acknowledged late last year when the City of Launceston approved an Access Framework for Action to improve disability access at sporting facilities, on public transport and all public spaces.

Even in 2021, some buildings remained inaccessible to wheel-chair bound people, while more needed to be done to add disabled parking spaces.

One visually impaired resident described the challenges of navigating Launceston's uneven footpaths, with inaudible pedestrian crossings and a lack of tactiles making life difficult.

While an incident in Hobart on election day - in which a wheelchair-bound woman died after falling from a ramp at a school-based polling booth - further highlighted the risks that many face simply by trying to do something that others take for granted.

So it seems completely inappropriate that one of Launceston's most used sporting facilities, the Elphin Sports Centre, has so many deficiencies when it comes to wheelchair access.

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It's resulted in a situation where Michael Mitchell has to travel 800 metres just to get between courts to watch his daughter play basketball, and where he no longer has access to the toilet.

Disability standards have been around for a while now, so how did this public facility fall through the cracks?

Was it simply not seen as a priority, or did it somehow miss a disability access audit of government-owned buildings?

Let's hope it gets the funding needed to bring it into the 21st century and provide dignity for all users.