The amendment to the state accessibility law, dating from 1992, will take effect in January next year. With the aim that Santa Cruz begins to comply as soon as possible with this modified norm, Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez announced yesterday that this week he will proceed to the signing of a decree to guarantee universal accessibility in municipal works, services and supplies, which which makes the capital the first municipality in the Canary Islands to comply with this standard. According to Bermúdez, “it is about working on two specific lines, which are the adaptation of public spaces and care for people with disabilities through IMAS.” Among the first, the removal of trees or any other type of vegetation that prevents accessibility on sidewalks where it is not possible to carry out works for its extension stands out.
“The first objective will always be to widen the sidewalks to comply with what the regulations say, and that is that they must be at least 1.80 meters wide. If that is not possible, and some type of vegetation prevents the passage, it will be transferred to another point, and it will be replaced by another type of species that does not cause accessibility problems. If that is not possible either, it will be eliminated ”, explained the Councilor for Accessibility, Javier Rivero. The mayor clarified that “in no case” does it mean a decrease in plant species in the city, because they are always replaced by others, and pointed out that “already on Avenida de Los Majuelos we have done so with up to 11 specimens of palm trees, whose roots they made pedestrian access impractical ”.
But this is not the only measure with which universal accessibility will be guaranteed, an order has also been given for the district offices to manage, for the first time, a budget of 200,000 euros, 40,000 per district, to address direct accessibility works. Rivero also pointed out that 90,000 euros will be allocated to provide sign language interpreters to customer service offices, “but also to any area that needs them can count on them.”
The mayor of Accessibility explained that, also for the first time, there is an identity manual, “which is a pioneer in the Canary Islands”, with which the signage will be unified in relation to accessibility in public spaces. “With this decree, the one that was issued in 2011 is updated, which reminds us of the obligation that all public works have an annex that certifies accessibility,” added Rivero.
For her part, the Councilor for Social Action, Rosario González, valued the change in the bases of disability aid, which allows, for example, to improve early care for minors with some type of disability or simplify processes to access aid to eliminate physical barriers in homes.
“Another novelty is that, for the first time, we are going to tender the adapted bathroom together with the transport, so that they are not given separately as before,” he said. González also advanced the implementation of different disability support programs.
