Acessibilidade e mobilidade urbana como condição estratégica de equidade e qualidade de vida das pessoas com deficiência: o caso da linha sul do metrô de Fortaleza

Abstract

The right to move around the city safely is a right guaranteed by the 1988 Federal Constitution. In this context, urban mobility and quality accessibility to public transport equipment and services are considered essential factors in guaranteeing the right to come and go and access to the city for people with disabilities. In view of this, based on concerns about the ways in which people with disabilities travel, this study aims to analyze the conditions of access and accessibility for people with disabilities (PwD) to the Fortaleza metro stations and their surroundings, as a way of understanding the current panorama of access and the parameters of accessibility for the inclusion of this population in the metro system, using the South Line of the Fortaleza metro as the spatial focus. The methodological design adopted for this study was divided into four stages. Initially, a literature review was carried out on the main concepts covered. Documentary research then added legal parameters to the analysis by understanding the laws, regulations and plans relating to the subject. In addition, existing official secondary data relevant to the research was mapped and collected. In the third stage, systematic observation and the application of a checklist were carried out along 15 stations on the South Line of the Fortaleza Metro and 23 urban routes on stretches relevant to the use of People with Disabilities, all of which originated at relevant stations, simulating the journey along two different routes. Finally, the data collected was systematized to build the diagnosis. At the end of the analysis, it emerged that the main problems at the stations are related to the failure to update accessibility elements in line with current standards, and along the urban routes the main barriers identified were the lack of accessibility on the sidewalks and the inadequacy of the lowered curbs and crossings.