How long does it take a person to walk 250 meters? Well, depending on whether you watch it or not, it’s never said better, because being blind, in some cases for a day, complicates things even more. This is what a group of journalists were able to verify, putting themselves in the place of a severely visually impaired person, this Monday, during a awareness activity developed by ONCE in Toledo.
Neither the fear of the dark nor the rain stopped eight communications professionals from covering the distance that separates the two countries, shortly after ten in the morning. ONCE headquarters in Toledo, at number 10 Calle Reino Unidoon Ireland Avenue. With an opaque mask covering their eyes and a cane as their only tool to guide them, in addition to touch and hearing as substitute senses for sight, everyone overcame the obstacles as best they could.
All this, thanks to a good guide, Daniel Hormigos, ONCE rehabilitation technicianwho, with other workers, accompanied the “plumillas” on their journey, as well as the president of the Territorial Council of the organization in Castile-La Mancha, José Martínezwho assured that “telling it is not the same thing as living it, and we wanted you to experience our reality, because our daily life is quite complicated”.
Sidewalks of different textures and shapes, traffic lights without sound, potholes, raised paving stones, fences without fences, treacherous pivots, diagonal crosswalks and cars speeding past without respecting the pedestrian in the least, especially if they are visually impaired, are some of the problems that this type of people face daily and that some, like this one who writes, suffered for a day, as if he It was a gymkhana.
This is why the president of the ONCE of Castile-La Mancha wanted to take advantage of this activity to once again ask the competent administrations for a regional accessibility fund which, according to him, “must be accompanied by a Accessibility law updated, since the current law dates from 1994 and the technical code dates from 1997knowing that things have changed a lot.”
“We have to act because almost all of us are going to get old or we can suffer from a disability at any time but, beyond that, it is a question of the quality of the city, whether things are done well or not” , Martínez said. said , who warned of the “risky situations” that many people experience if they do not act on the matter.
In Castile-La Mancha, has made Albacete an example of an accessible city and in the specific case of Toledo, where the activity took place, the head of ONCE emphasized that, although the historic center presents obvious complications due to its orography, “there are many solutions”.
SO, highlighted the cases of other World Heritage cities, such as Ávilawhere “very interesting things” have been done in terms of accessibility and where even a person in a wheelchair can walk along the wall. “Ultimately, tourism also needs to be accessible,” he reflected.
In this sense, he called “municipalities to update their municipal ordinances and municipalities, in rural Castile-La Mancha which has many municipalities, to also get involved in accessibility.” Accessibility is fundamental for us, it is a tool of freedom.
“Accessibility benefits not just the blind, but everyone,” said Daniel Hormigos, who believes that “it is essential that infrastructure design is universal, so that we can all safely navigate the world. ‘urban environment’.
Thus ends a 250 meter odyssey which, at a normal pace, can be covered in just under five minutes, but which, for those new to the subject, lasted almost three quarters of an hour, fortunately without incident , despite the difficulties encountered. implied.