The autonomous Region of Valencia is made up of the provinces of Castellon, Valencia and Alicante: the capital of the region is Valencia.

The Plan de Parques Accesibles en la Comunidad Valenciana is a Project by means of which parks and gardens in the region will provide accessible facilities for seniors and the disabled. It's focused not only on using universal design principles when creating new parks but on designing upgrading accessibility works in the existing ones. 

La Canaleta, a park about 40.000 square metres in the city of Mislata, is now fully accesible. Accessibility upgrading Works have been supported both by the Generalitat (autonomous government in the region) and the City Council.

Among the improvements, there's an accessible/adapted children's playground and the pic-nic area, drinking fountains, sports areas are accessible to wheelchair users. Reserved accessible parking areas have been created, too. Routes specially designed for the blind/visually impaired have been designed so that these people will be able to enjoy the park at its full.

The eleven fully accessible parks for people with reduced mobility and wheelchair users in the Valencian Region are located in Burriana ( province of Castellón), in Altea and Miramar (province of Alicante ) and Náquera, Paterna, Sueca, Llosa de Ranes, Rafelbuñol, Genovés, Pobla de Farnals yand Mislata ( province of Valencia).

www.comunitatvalenciana.com is the official tourism site of the Region of Valencia. Accessible areas in beaches in the Valencian Community are the endowment of a wide variety of equipments and services in order to allow people with reduced mobility to use and enjoy the beaches. For this purpose, signs, ramps, special walkways to the seashore, amphibian chairs or a rest area with sunshades and special furnishings, bathing-huts, WC and showers with bathing chairs have been installed. The official tourism website (comprising of three provinces: Castellón, Valencia and Alicante) provides info in English (click on British flag): select "Beaches" in the menu on the left, then "Accessible Beaches" in the beaches page and this will open a list by town/village in alphabetical order. By clicking on a certain beach a new window will be opened featuring main services and facilities of that beach. A leisure project providing adaptive sports activities in some accessible beaches has been carried out for the last years, too.

 

Rebecca Arce