By BRONSON PETTITT
Mexico Weekly / Feb. 17, 2011
A Mexico City lawmaker is calling on officials to install proper accesses for people with disabilities in all Metro stations.
Assemblyman Fernando Rodríguez Doval (PAN) presented on Wednesday a resolution at the Federal District Legislative Assembly (ALDF) calling on the capital government to outfit the 175-station subway system with more accommodating infrastructure for the approximately 160,000 people with disabilities living in the city.
Only 32 stations (18 percent) in the Metro have grooved guiding systems for visually impaired people using walking canes, and six stations have 24 elevators, according to the system's website. In addition, 25 stations have 355 braille signs.
Most of these facilities are located on heavily used stations, including Cuatro Caminos, Constitución de 1917, Taxqueña and Zócalo.
Line B, the newest subway line, has visual aids in all 21 stations.
In 2009, the capital's Human Rights Commission (CDHDF) issued a report saying Mexico City's infrastructure is not accommodating to people with disabilities.
However, some measures have been taken. For instance, public transportation is free for people with disabilities, reserved seating is common on Metro cars and buses, and new projects, such as Metrobús Line 3, include braille signs and ramps at all of its 32 stations.
Rodríguez did not offer cost estimates, but assembly members passed the resolution.
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