When we won our accessibility budget proposal in 2018 (Please see the Winning and Waiting blog https://www.accessiblealgarve.com/winning-then-waiting-lagos-budget-proposal. We were delighted the voters had approved improvements to pedestrian crossings in a neighborhood in Lagos.
We are even happier today as the City has completed roadworks in a greater area than we had proposed and has taken on board suggestions we made to the city architect.
Please see our letter sent to the Mayor of Lagos at the end of this article (in Portuguese and English). It just shows with a bit of effort, participation and persistence things can change. This is making a difference to people with reduced mobility who are living in and visiting Lagos.
Exmo Sr. Presidente Hugo Pereira,
Gostaríamos de agradecer o trabalho realizado para eliminar as barreiras à mobilidade na Rua Infante Dom Henrique e na Rua Vaso da Gama e outras ruas de Lagos.
Isso está realmente fazendo uma grande diferença em nossas vidas, e tenho certeza para outras pessoas que enfrentam desafios de mobilidade.
Esperamos que qualquer nova construção que ocorra no futuro sempre considere cuidadosamente os desafios enfrentados por pessoas com mobilidade reduzida e deficiência visual.
Gostaríamos de agradecer especialmente à Arquiteta Catarina Pereira por ouvir nossas preocupações quando passeamos com ela por aquele bairro em setembro de 2018.
Agradecemos também à Unidade Técnica de Gestão Urbana por responder às nossas dúvidas sobre o projeto.
Obrigado novamente, mantenha-se saudável e tenha uma boa semana.
Kevin Aplin and Constance Houck
Translation:
Honorable President Hugo Pereira,
We would like to thank you for the work done to eliminate barriers to mobility at Rua Infante Dom Henrique and Rua Vaso da Gama and other streets in Lagos.
This is really making a big difference in our lives, and I am sure for other people who face mobility challenges.
We hope that any new construction that takes place in the future will always carefully consider the challenges faced by people with reduced mobility and visual impairment.
We would like to especially thank Architect Catarina Pereira for listening to our concerns when we walked with her through that neighborhood in September 2018.
We also thank the Urban Management Technical Unit for answering our questions about the project.
Thanks again, stay healthy and have a good week.
Kevin Aplin and Constance Houck,
