The Department of Accessibility finalizes the preparation of the document, which includes almost forty specific measures to improve inclusion, access to services and to the island’s infrastructure and resources.
The Cabildo has presented today the Fuerteventura Accessibility Plan, a strategic document which aims to gradually make accessible environments and existing services on the island, so that all people can use them comfortably, free, safe and autonomous. The plan was presented today by the island president, Lola Garcia, and the Councilor for Accessibility, Carmen Alonso, accompanied by the drafting team, at the Insular Youth Center (Puerto del Rosario).
Also present were the councilors of the area of Tuineje, Pedro Rodríguez, and Antigua, Giuseppe Signorino, other municipal representatives and councilors of the Island Corporation, as well as associations in the field of accessibility and other groups.
The Fuerteventura Accessibility Plan has been developed with the participation of municipalities, citizens, social groups, representatives of the professional sector of accessibility, transport and business, among other areas. “As a result of this collective work, the barriers faced by people living in Fuerteventura have been identified and a series of concrete proposals are established to transform the reality of our island,” said Lola Garcia. “We want all people to be able to walk our streets, access public buildings, enjoy transportation, attend a show, participate in a sports or cultural activity, explore our trails and beaches, or simply move around their environment freely and safely. That is the goal of this project.
The Councilor for Accessibility, Carmen Alonso, pointed out that, since the beginning of this year, sectorial tables and consultations with citizens have been developed. “We have collected all that valuable information and almost forty measures have been established to be undertaken in the short, long and medium term, in different areas to improve inclusion, access to services, infrastructure and resources of the Island”.
According to data from the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC) of 2022, in Fuerteventura there are more than 7,000 people with some limitation that makes it difficult for them to carry out their daily activities. A 6.17% of the total resident population of the island.
The Fuerteventura Accessibility Plan establishes almost forty specific proposals to improve universal accessibility for these people in buildings and public spaces, as well as in the areas of transportation, communication, citizen participation, environment, tourism, culture and sports, as well as other cross-cutting actions.
Measures
Raúl Falcón, from the plan’s drafting team, explained that the document has a ten-year time horizon. Among its most important objectives, it establishes the development of an improvement plan to be implemented in at least 70% of public buildings, a diagnosis of accessibility in transport infrastructures and improved access to information on the Cabildo’s web pages and services. It also includes the promotion of accessible tourism, as well as achieving a 35% increase in the participation of people with functional diversity in cultural and sports activities. It also seeks to make a diagnosis of universal accessibility and signage in natural areas of Fuerteventura and increase the active participation of people with functional diversity in consultation and decision-making processes within the scope of citizen participation, among many other measures. All this, promoting the coordinated work between Cabildo of Fuerteventura and municipalities, in addition to enhancing awareness campaigns on the island.
