Vittoriosa Waterfront has become a popular spot for a family outing where you can enjoy the yacht marina, restaurants, and historical monuments.

Unfortunately, accessibility for wheelchair users is inadequate on the side by the sea from the Freedom monument towards Cospicua.

Although a wheelchair ramp opposite the monument does exist, the one on the other side of the same pavement, around 500 metres further down, is blocked by a big structure, probably housing yacht marina equipment (see photo above). Additionally, the ramp is often blocked by parked vehicles due to lack of road markings.

Persons with a mobility problem, wheelchair users, elderly people and parents with pushchairs have no option but to stay on the potholed road with obvious risks of injury.

Moreover, the pavement kerb is around 30 cm high, which is double the standard pavement height as clearly defined in the 'Access for All Design Guidelines' issued by the National Commission for Persons with Disability. This makes it impossible to access the pavement safely anywhere else but from a ramp.

The structure should be relocated at the very earliest and necessary measures should be taken to avoid repetition. Road markings should be painted to maintain appropriate access.

There are many examples of other pavements rendered inaccessible by blocking, either directly or indirectly. Examples include feast banner poles embedded in the middle of pavements and illegally parked cars obstructing pavement ramps. Pavements should always be fully accessible with a 1.2 metre unobstructed width. There should be adequate road markings, such as double yellow lines in front of all pavement ramps.

The authorities concerned should take immediate action towards true accessibility in all localities.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.