A quay several hundred meters long. Four shelters. An access ramp. An elevator. This is what platforms four and five of Dijon (Côte-d’Or) station look like. They are ended since Wednesday February 3, 2021 with the inauguration of the elevators. Now make way for the other three remaining platforms. Their facelift begins on Monday, February 15, 2021. One of the objectives: to make them accessible to people with reduced mobility.
Dijon station: the tree that hides the forest?
The cost of this repair reached nearly 40 million euros, the most expensive project for SNCF in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. These works therefore include accessibility, i.e. equipment which allows people with reduced mobility to access the platforms.. It has been mandatory since February 11, 2005, date of promulgation of a law which forces each work to include a part of accessibility. The text gives an objective of achieving this in 10 years. But in 2021, all is not perfect far from there, judge Mohammed, in his thirties nailed in a wheelchair.
– Cédric Hermel
“There is still a lot of work to do“, Mohammed.
“Let’s say that we can still improve a lot of things. It’s more complicated to travel in the city center than in shopping areas like the Golden Fleece. Sidewalks could be readjusted to be more accessible“Judge the resident of Plombières-les-Dijon. He tempers by saying that public transport in the Dijon agglomeration is easy to access.
But for Bernard Avon, from APF France Handicap in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, the Côte-d’Or and the region in general have fallen behind in this area.
“Accessible” buildings in Auxonne for its mayor
For Bernard Avon, “we could have solved the problem of accessibility in transport, to take an example, with the budget of the region.” This year, it is almost 2 billion euros. “We only react to laws and we have not thought about the use“, continues the member of APF France Handicap. However, the latter tempers by taking the example of colleges and high schools, where “efforts are being made.“
Another example, that ofAuxonne (Côte-d’Or), on the banks of the Saône. Certain buildings such as the media library or the swimming pool must be made accessible. Work undertaken by the predecessor of Jacques-François Coiquil, current mayor of the city. One of the nerves of the war for him is the treasury.
“A simple _ramp_, it’s around 5,000 to 8,000 euros if we want to do something comfortable. In the case of the media library, you need a elevator and nothing that the device is worth 30.000 euros not to mention all the genius part“, specifies the mayor of Auxonne.”It always has a cost of course! But is accessibility an expensive cost, I don’t think so“, adds Jacques-François Coiquil.
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