Meet two Dubai residents relying on RTA disability access initiative. The RTA and Dubai Municipality have embarked on a series of initiatives aimed at turning Dubai into a disability friendly city. From detailed guidelines on facilities and access, that have to be provided for people with disabilities, to Urban design considerations including obstructions, signage, street furniture, pathways, curb ramps, pedestrian crossing and parking, the City of Dubai is well on its way to achieving its goal of 100% walkability by 2020.See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
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00:00With Expo 2020 only four years away, there have been many initiatives implemented to
00:11make sure Dubai is more access friendly for people with disabilities. We've come to meet
00:16a couple of people who rely on these changes to see how it's impacted their lives.
00:21When I was 18 years old I had to sit on a wheelchair for the first time. I felt embarrassed
00:32about it but I had no choice because I was unable to walk so I had to sit on a wheelchair.
00:40I am from Bombay, India and I have cerebral palsy which is why I am on a wheelchair.
00:54How do you find getting around Dubai in a wheelchair? Is it easy?
00:59In the new parts I find everything accessible but in some of the older buildings there are
01:08no ramps for me to enter. Sometimes there are no proper ramps and there are not good
01:21pavements so that makes it difficult to go in and out of places. I noticed most of the
01:31malls and all the new places are accessible for me. They have parking, toilets, everything
01:43so Dubai is improving.
01:48Just now in the business bay area they have come up with good ramps but one or two places
01:54in this new development have made one or two mistakes. Especially the crossing area is
02:01very dangerous for her. The place is very narrow, the car coming and going. I have a
02:08ramp in the car. There is no ramp in Dubai so I use that ramp which I got from the USA.
02:14I sent an email to RTA that these are some of the places where I go and I don't have
02:24the pedestrian crossings. So I wrote an email to RTA about this and I got a reply after
02:39some time that they said they are working on it and they will let me know in a few months.
02:44Yes we are aware about this issue and we have a clear strategy to implement a comprehensive
02:49plan to make our city disabled friendly and that is to reach our vision which is safe
02:57and smooth transport for all. We believe that we have done a lot of effort in public
03:04transportation in general and also we believe that a lot of work should be done to create
03:12the city walkable for all, especially for disabled people. Our focus in the last years
03:23was on transportation to encourage people to use public transportation. For the next
03:27stage we are focusing now to enhance the walkability in the city which will ease the
03:35movement for the disabled people. RTA is there, they are listening to the people who need
03:41it and I am quite grateful to RTA that they made it because after me there could be some
03:52other people who would be using it. It's a good job that they have done so that she is
03:56comfortable, she is moving around and when we have seen all this development coming up
04:00that's why we thought of getting her this wheelchair so that she can move on independently
04:05and then I don't have any problem, she is free, I am free. Dubai authorities have been
04:09working at full speed to make sure the city is 100% access friendly for people with disabilities
04:14and the changes they have implemented so far are making a real impact in the lives of those
04:19people who desperately need those facilities. Salve Grand Paia, Golf News.