Wevelgem and Koekelare awarded for accessible mobility

The prizes were awarded during a theme day in Bruges. The event on accessible mobility will henceforth be organized every two years by the Department of Mobility and Public Works, the Association for Flemish Cities and Municipalities, the transport company De Lijn and the Inter-Accessible Flanders foundation.

Cities and municipalities had to submit a file with their accessible mobility initiatives themselves if they wanted to have a chance to win the prize. A jury of experts selected the winners in three categories: cities/municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, medium-sized cities/municipalities with 20,000 to 50,000 inhabitants and small towns/municipalities up to 20,000 inhabitants. Only Koekelare was nominated in the latter category.

Wevelgem

Wevelgem has signed the charter ‘Masterplan accessible stops’. The municipality has a staff member and policy officer who work specifically on accessibility. The municipality is making concrete investments in accessibility, including increased bus stops, a pedestrian path plan and training and further training for the technical service.

Koekelare

The municipality of Koekelare has signed the charter ‘Masterplan accessible bus stops’. Accessibility is included as an important element in the policy memorandum. There is an action plan for removing barriers and the municipality has an accessibility label. Koekelare works closely with less mobile target groups and uses user participation.

Flemish Minister of Mobility Lydia Peeters thanks the winners and all nominees. “With this initiative, we hope from Flanders to motivate even more local authorities to work together with the Flemish government, the VVSG, De Lijn and Inter to make more accessible stops, so that everyone can move in a safe and comfortable way,” he said. they.