Vincent Roberti, prefect of Tarn-et-Garonne, visited the “Ostalas” estate which has undergone an exemplary layout in terms of accessibility. On this occasion, he took stock of the level of accessibility of public spaces and buildings.
In recent years, the daily lives of people with disabilities have seen many improvements: more disabled children are educated in the school of the Republic, the unemployment rate of disabled workers has dropped. But too many courses are still hampered by procedures that are far too long.
In this context, four major priorities were set by the President of the Republic during the National Disability Conference (CNH) which was held on April 26, for the next three years: inclusive education, full employment, support and accessibility.
Since the law of 2005, the level of accessibility of public spaces, public buildings and establishments open to the public (ERP) has improved in our country, thanks in particular to the scheduled accessibility agendas introduced in 2015.
However, it is clear that the challenges are still immense. Breaks in pathways are still too frequent. And the operators of small hotel-restaurants have great difficulty in bringing themselves up to standard.
At the national level, only 40% of establishments open to the public are accessible to the public. They are 50.2% in Tarn-et-Garonne (1,928 ERPs accessible for 3,928 ERPs of category 1 to 5 identified).
A territorial accessibility fund, endowed with 1.5 billion euros, will be set up from 2024. It will make it possible to finance three types of projects: State buildings, public buildings and spaces for local authorities, fifth category private ERPs. Local authorities will be invited to carry out a multi-annual program of their investments in this area and to submit their projects to the prefecture by the end of the year.