'Municipalities for Everyone.'

ACCESSIBILITY FOR those not fortunate enough to be able to walk everywhere is a major problem in all cities.

Torrevieja is one of the few who have a well established program of access ramps on almost every street corner and major crossing points around the city for not just those wheel chair bound but also those pushing prams and baby buggies or even a shopping trolley.

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, Mayor Eduardo Dolon opened a two-day conference and seminar in the Virgen Del Carmen Cultural Centre dealing with the topic of Universal Access and how best to achieve it, under the title of ‘Municipalities for Everyone.”

The objective was to highlight the increased physical and sensory accessibility that municipalities should consider for the urban environment.

This was primarily aimed at local government delegates as well as representatives of key private sectors of the municipality, such as commerce, hospitality, leisure, culture and sport. It also looked at the major problem of inconsiderate drivers who park their cars indiscriminately over access ramps, forcing those requiring assistance to seek a different route to simply cross the road!

The two-day seminars included practical demonstrations and awareness techniques covering topics such as the existing legislation onaccessibility and tourism (European Standard, State and Autonomous Community), global accessibility in the municipality and the major requirements for accessibility settings and equipment.

Torrevieja is presently undergoing a major fact-finding mission to improve accessibility throughout the city, which it hopes to have completed and implemented during 2012. This will place the city well ahead of the legislated deadline of 2014, by which time all major towns and cities will have to adhere to new legislation regarding access in the community.

By Keith Nicol