The creation of access circuits for people with reduced mobility to facilitate their movement in the city, access to administrations, as well as the use of public transport.
An exemplary access circuit for people with reduced mobility, the blind and visually impaired has been created in the centre of Tetouan, a pioneering initiative that reinforces the multiple projects carried out in the city for the benefit of this fragile category of Moroccan society.
The pedestrian paths at Place Moulay El Mehdi and the surrounding circuits have recently undergone development work for the installation of an accessibility circuit designed according to international technical and artistic standards, to allow people with specific needs, particularly users of a white cane, to use the public highway freely without being confronted with any danger.
This project, which was realised thanks to the support of the National Initiative for Human Development, aims to guarantee the physical and moral safety of this category of people and to facilitate their movement in the city on an equal footing with other citizens, so that they can fully participate in the activities of daily life.
This human and social initiative, which is the fruit of cooperation between the wilaya of Tetouan and the "Colombe Blanche" Association for the protection of young disabled people, the project leader, aims to help the visually impaired and blind to locate their paths and to recognise obstacles on the ground that could hinder their free movement.
Intended exceptionally for people with specific needs, the equipment put in place in the middle of the pedestrian path should, despite its simplicity, guarantee the autonomy of the movement of these people, guide their passage and prevent them from exposing themselves to potential risks.
The creation of this access circuit for people with reduced mobility, the visually impaired and blind is in perfect harmony with the proposals and recommendations that were formulated by the Colombe Blanche association, following a participatory diagnosis on the situation of accessibility in the city of Tetouan.
According to the said association, the creation of this circuit is part of the project on "universal accessibility at the service of the rights of people with reduced mobility", which was carried out by the organisation Handicap International and financed by the European Union. It is, in fact, the fruit of a broad process of consultations between Colombe Blanche and the associations working in the field of disability in Tetouan, the local authorities and the elected bodies, with a view to guaranteeing a process of development and local governance of the city based on the involvement of all actors, to reduce the social exclusion of people in a situation of disability and to ensure equal opportunities to integrate public services and local administrations.
This initiative, which was favourably received by the Tetouan population and more particularly by the people concerned, should undoubtedly encourage the undertaking of other similar initiatives including the different axes of Tetouan and the other cities of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al-Hoceima region.
