A lot more needs to be done in order to guarantee full access to the handicapped at the island’s recreational facilities.
The problem is such that most stateside travel agencies advertising Puerto Rico as a tourist destination, note that the island has “minimal facilities for the handicapped.”
Nearly all of Puerto Rico’s 3,010 passive parks have a ramp for use by the handicapped, but they lack specialized recreation systems for disabled individuals, especially children.
More troubling still, at most of the island’s top sport venues, such as the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, the Hiram Bithorn Stadium and the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, have only a few designated bathrooms for handicapped persons.
Twenty five years after the implementation of Law 44, known as the Anti-discrimination against Handicapped Persons Act of 1985, there’s still a lot of ground to be covered when it comes to providing disabled individuals a better quality of life.
According to the latest figures, 26 percent of the population, or roughly 1 million people, have some form of disability.
“A lot has been achieved in the last 25 years, especially in the area of acceptance. Now, the people with disabilities are more visible and are getting out more,” said José Montalvo, director of administrative officials at the Handicapped Persons Advocacy Office.
Montalvo said that because the disabled are venturing out more to sporting competitions and other events, the lack of proper bathroom facilities has become more pressing.
“Sometimes the venue has only one bathroom area designated for the handicapped. That’s one area per floor. If that bathroom is full, the person must wait or move to another floor,” said Montalvo.
His comments came during a hearing by the House Family Affairs and Community Committee, chaired by New Progressive Party Rep. Elizabeth Casado.
“This is a problem we need to discuss further. We need to look out for solutions. We have done a lot, but there’s still a long road to cover before we can give justice to people with disabilities,” Casado said.
The Committee is reviewing the merits of Senate Bill 1744, authored by Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, which calls for 40 percent of all sport recreational facilities to have facilities for the handicapped by 2020.
Although the bill is well intentioned, it could be difficult to enforce because most parks and passive recreation facilities are in the hands of the municipalities.
According to Sports and Recreation Department Secretary Henry Neumann, his Department has already transferred facilities to 68 municipalities.
“Many island parks and facilities are in the hands of the municipalities in accordance with Law 120. Only 10 towns are still pending transfer,” Neumann said.
Transfer means that the municipalities control the facilities, which makes any modification to the parks difficult due to the lack of funds.
“Getting parks ready to receive the disabled is not as expensive as many think. The specialized equipment needed to get more recreation for those with a handicap are basically the same system but with a few modifications,” Montalvo said.
There is also a problem with the parks in residential areas.
Most recreational facilities located in access- controlled residential complexes belong to the residents, making it impossible for the government to regulate the systems for the handicapped.
The Daily Sun visited five such complexes in the metropolitan area and found that none have specialized platforms for the disabled. The only facility available was the access ramp.
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