Reduced mobility
The issue
Of all the journeys we make in the city, 30 to 40% are made on foot. If you add the distance covered before and after taking the bus or even the car, you can almost double that figure!
Walking is the most natural way to get around. Whatever means of transport you choose, one or more stages of your journey will always be on foot. Pedestrians, and especially people with reduced mobility, find it harder to get around on foot when the infrastructure is poor. Pavements that are poorly laid out, cluttered, too narrow or non-existent pose problems for pedestrians.
People with reduced mobility
The term "person with reduced mobility" refers to anyone who has difficulty getting around. A person's mobility is directly related to their age. At different stages in their lives, from babies to the elderly, people can have reduced mobility. What's more, for some people the difficulties are visible: wheelchairs, plaster casts; for others, they are less visible or not visible at all: heart or respiratory conditions that prevent prolonged exertion. Sufferers are no longer able to walk long distances. Their sense of balance may be impaired, as may their ability to negotiate uneven surfaces.
Mobility difficulties can also be caused by illness, a birth defect or be the result of an accident, leading to :
- a temporary or permanent disability requiring the use of a wheelchair;
- a total (blind) or partial (partially sighted) reduction in visual acuity, requiring the person to learn how to move around;
- total (deaf) or partial (hard of hearing) hearing loss, requiring appropriate signalling systems.
Other factors can also affect independence and limit general mobility. These factors are specific to :
- activities (moving house, pushing a pram);
- the person's status (pregnancy, convalescence);
- stature (short or tall).
Accessibility to the University and surrounding area
Our first action will focus on an analysis of the accessibility of the University's roads and buildings:
- accessibility of roads: analysis of the accessibility of roads close to the faculties
- accessibility of the University's buildings: analysis of the accessibility of buildings, taking into account the different needs associated with different disabilities (with the help of the Pedibus association).
Travelling by bus and train?
TEC provides a special service for people with reduced mobility. Contact them on 081/212101. More information is also available on their website.
The SNCB also has an assistance service to help you get on and off trains. Contact Namur station on 081/252222. All the information is in the guide for travellers with reduced mobility.
External associations
GAMAH
For more than 20 years, GAMAH, Groupe d'Action pour une Meilleure Accessibilité aux personnes handicapées, has been developing initiatives to improve the accessibility of public spaces, transport and buildings to enable people with reduced mobility to achieve maximum independence.
Pedibus Service
The Pedibus Service offers a range of information, training, leadership and mediation tools aimed at creating the synergies necessary and sufficient to guarantee the quality of pedestrian travel in our towns and villages.
This service is aimed at public and private decision-makers, as well as associations for pedestrians, disabled people and people with reduced mobility, and any citizen interested in the subject of pedestrian mobility.
Passe-Partout Service
With the support of the Walloon Region, the Passe-Partout Service has developed a unique method for analysing the accessibility of buildings in great detail according to 6 categories of people with reduced mobility, with the emphasis on individual autonomy: the Passe-Partout Index.
AccessAndGo-ABP
AccessAndGo-ABP, formerly AccessAndGo asbl and ABP asbl, works on a daily basis to improve the accessibility of our society and support people with reduced mobility (PRM) in the different stages of their lives. Whether you're in a wheelchair, have difficulty walking, are blind, partially sighted, deaf, hard of hearing or have difficulty understanding, families with pushchairs, the elderly, expectant mothers, travellers or people with temporary injuries, AccessAndGo-ABP's day-to-day work concerns everyone.
