A walkthrough geared towards improving access and establishing demarcations in St John’s for differently abled persons will take place today.
Hubert Jarvis, the General Manager of the Transport Board, and Sergeant Kenny McBurnie of the police traffic department, are expected to form part of today’s event organised by the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons Living with Disabilities.
The body’s leaders met with Jarvis on Tuesday to discuss the initiative, which association head Bernard Warner told Observer he anticipates will be productive.
Warner said the event should not be considered a protest, but a public awareness endeavour.
“This walkthrough is really geared towards raising awareness and to identify the areas that need to be marked to ensure that persons with disabilities do have the parking,” he explained.
“The head of the Transport Board has given his full commitment to ensure that whatever necessary markings need to be done will be done to ensure that people with disabilities will be looked after.
“We are encouraging the public and the disability community to come out and see what is going on.
“This is for Antigua, this is for all of us, and this public awareness walkthrough will go a long way in ensuring that awareness is raised surrounding the inaccessibility of St John’s, and the need for the inclusion of accessibility services for people with disabilities,” Warner added.
The event will begin at midday.
It comes weeks after newly-appointed Works Minister Maria Browne, Tourism Minister Charles Fernandez, and Patrick Burnette, President of the St John’s Taxi Association, undertook a similar fact-finding walkthrough to determine the extent of repairs needed in and around the city.