The Plenary of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa has approved this Tuesday a motion, presented by CC, to promote the free parking spaces reserved for people with reduced mobility (PMR) in the seven municipalities of the Island. To this end, the unification of criteria in fiscal ordinances will be promoted and it will be guaranteed that accessibility does not entail an additional cost for people who need these spaces.
The agreement stems from an existing reality in Lanzarote, as the economic and administrative conditions associated with the reservation of PMR spaces are not currently homogeneous among the municipalities. While in some cases these spaces are exempt from fees, in others there may be costs related to space reservation, public road occupation, the issuance of a permit, or the installation and maintenance of signage.
Given this situation, the Cabildo has approved to promote a coordinated response among local administrations to move towards a common criterion throughout the Island, so that a person with reduced mobility does not have to bear a different cost depending on the municipality in which they reside or work.
The Minister of Social Welfare and Inclusion of the Cabildo, Marci Acuña, has stated that "accessibility must be above administrative differences between municipalities and we must work so that a person with reduced mobility can exercise their rights on equal terms, wherever they live".
"We are not talking about granting a privilege, but about facilitating a measure that allows many people to move around, access their homes and carry out their daily lives with greater autonomy and security. If we, as administrations, can remove an economic barrier, we must do so," states Acuña.
A diagnosis to understand the reality of PMR spaces on the Island
Among the approved agreements is the development of an island-wide diagnosis on the number and location of public parking spaces for people with reduced mobility, with the aim of understanding the existing situation and assessing its adequacy to the standards established by current legislation. This diagnosis will provide a global vision of accessibility needs related to reserved parking and will serve as a tool to improve coordination between different public administrations.
The motion also includes urging the seven town councils of Lanzarote to coordinate to advance in the unification of criteria for their fiscal ordinances regarding nominal PMR spaces, linked to the residence or workplace of the beneficiaries.
Zero cost for reservation and signage
The agreement approved by the Plenary also promotes the total exemption of costs associated with these spaces for people who meet the requirements established to have the PMR card. The measure includes both the fee for processing the space reservation application and the one for the occupation of public roads and the costs derived from the installation of the necessary signage.
Marci Acuña also highlights that the initiative "necessarily requires cooperation between the Cabildo and the town councils, because it is the municipal corporations that must adapt their respective ordinances, and from the Cabildo we are going to facilitate that process within our possibilities."
Technical and legal support for town councils
With the aim of facilitating the application of the agreements, the Cabildo will offer technical and legal assistance to those town councils that request it to expedite the modification of their fiscal ordinances regulating fees linked to the private use or special exploitation of local public domain.
"From the Cabildo, we want Lanzarote to move towards a more coordinated accessibility model, in which administrations work together and in which people do not find economic or administrative obstacles to exercising basic rights. This agreement is a step in that direction and now we must work to ensure that it translates into concrete measures throughout the Island," concludes the counselor.
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