Orihuela - Inaccessable Town

The Municipal Group of Los Verdes in Orihuela denounce once again, the gaps in the scope of accessibility in our town due to the lack of action of the PP government team.

Since December last year, Los Verdes has been conducting a campaign of public complaint about the appalling conditions in respect of accessibility for people with reduced mobility in the municipality of Orihuela. In this way, we have been publically pointing out how access on the coast (the case of Agua Marina), and streets and squares of Orihuela presents an obstacle for people with disabilities traveling through it.



Today we refer to the streets Oriolanos Ausentes, País Valenciano, Avda Marqués de Molíns and la calle Hospital. In them, as we see in the photographs, there are pavements that do not have dropped kerbs, the crossings are not marked, and even unpaved areas. Obviously, these deficiencies constitute a discriminatory element to those with mobility problems, who are demanding decisive action of this Council, without up to now the Orihuela PP having given support to these less mobile citizens.

The city administration must stay awake to the problem, being closer to the citizen, because these deficiencies need to be overcome in so much that they affect, much of the daily lives of hundreds of oriolanos. But the reality is that the team of the PP government shows no interest in these kinds of problems, lying and deceiving the people who suffer from mobility problems, not only has the Councillor for Accessibility disappeared, but there is no mention in the General Budget to eliminate this discrimination and there is not even a municipal ordinances that regulate the accessibility to all oriolanos enjoy the same quality of life in the streets of our city.



Los Verdes in Orihuela City Council announce that we will continue to publicly expose the neglect and failure, once more, of the Mónica Lorente government on this issue, while presenting initiatives to improve accessibility throughout the municipality, since the Orihuela PP shows, each passing day, that it neither knows, nor can, nor wants to address these issues

Orihuela Without Barriers laments the Municipal 'Brake' as regards Accessibility

The association 'Orihuela Without Barriers' yesterday made a summary of municipal management on the subject of accessibility, which has underlined what in its view is "a brake" in the last two years in the actions of local government to eliminate barriers, as required by the legislation, architectural barriers.

Representatives stressed the deficiences in the management in the Council Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Education and Planning.

Miguel Ros, and Carmen Diaz, the representatives of the group denounced the lack of accessible buses not only for those with lack of mobility, but for the older person and for baby pushchairs, such as the service to Torremendo or the pedanías (villages), where users have to overcome three steps to enter.

Furthermore, the association affirms that new urban areas are being developed "without dropped kerb pavement accesses" which is then a cost to city coffers to amend them, and called for the adoption of a bye-law to this effect by exploiting the decline in construction activity.

In the town centre of the pedanía de Los Huertos they request the removal of barriers that cause difficulty for the residents to move about the only access pavement in the town, and actions in the streets Luis Barcala, Limon, Valencia and Castellon. In the latter road there has been the "absurd" case of a workshop that installed dropped kerbs only to have them removed by later work.

Nor has it (the council) controlled the shops that do not comply with the law on accessibility. A claim answered by an advisor to the Council on the grounds that "if you wanted to leave the street to all parents who have a trade in Orihuela", said Carmen Diaz, who recalled that the Mayor Lorente has not met with them as she promised and has abolished the council department for Acessibility.

Diaz criticized the new offices of the Delegation of Education at the Plaza Teniente Linares as not being accessible and being in need of a ramp and lift.

Translation of an article in on the 08/05/2009

Agua Marina Paseo Marítimo

During the full monthly meeting of the Orihuela Town Council (Pleno) held on Tuesday 31st. March 2009 the matter of the failure by the Council to provide easy and safe access to the promenade for persons who either need to use a wheelchair or other walking aids was raised during the duscussion about the new bye-law in respect of the beaches of Orihuela Costa.

The PP Councillor for the Coast, Clr. Aniorte promised as a matter of urgency to modify the access to the Agua Marina promenade and then gradually the other accesses that do not conform to the law.

We will have to wait and see what his definition of a matter of urgency is!

Violation of the Law of Accessibility

The following links are to interesting articles that appeared in today's Spanish newspaper La Verdad about the violation of the Law of Accessibility in the Orihuela Municipality.

http://www.laverdad.es/alicante/20090216/orihuela/denuncia-incumplimiento-accesibilidad-multiples-20090216.html

http://www.laverdad.es/alicante/20090216/orihuela/queja-extiende-plazas-reformadas-20090216.html

The articles refer to the observations made by Los Verdes to the inadequacies of free access for people with reduced mobility within the Municipality. The failure of the PP controlled Council to ensure that the correct access facilities are provided is highlighted with examples of the ommission of ramps where needed, and of narrow pavements putting pedestrians in danger from traffic.

It is further pointed out that amendments put forward by Los Verdes to the 2009 Budget in respect of funds to provide the access needed for the less mobile were rejected by the PP without any explaination. This is a Council that hopes to get the designation of 'Grand Ciudad' for the town, and yet forgets to solve the day to day problems for people with disabilities.

Access Discrimination in Orihuela Ayuntamiento.

Today (10th December 2008) the Los Verdes and PSOE Opposition Parties issued a joint press release to highlight the inadequate facilities that the Governing PP provide to the Opposition Parties in the Orihuela Town Hall, in that there is no access to the parties official offices in the building for disabled persons.

This is discrimination against persons with disabilities in that it restricts their access to their elected Councillors.

On Tuesday the 9th December the two parties held a meeting with various groups from Orihuela to collect and discuss their proposals for the future Citizen Participation Regulation. At the last minute the location of the meeting had to be changed so as to accommodate the attendance of those members of the public who had mobility disabilities.

Ever since the move into the current offices the two parties (Los Verdes and PSOE) have warned PP Councillor David Costa, who is responsible for office allocation, that access to the current offices was inadequate. It is an example that shows the PP Governing Party's poor commitment and lack of interest for persons with disabilities and their problems of access. As always, the politics of the PP in Orihuela is limited to photographs and acts of propaganda, and not to make it easier for disabled citizens, particularly those with different needs, to participate in public life.