Dubai parks to be fully disabled-friendly soon

Children with special needs in Dubai will soon be able to play games and share play areas with other children in parks with the Dubai Municipality announcing a project to make all parks in the emirate fully disabled-friendly in two years.

More disabled-friendly facilities, special gaming equipment and play areas for those with special needs will be introduced in all major parks in the emirate, Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Dubai Municipality, said.

“Entertainment has emerged as one of the well-known methods of treatment and rehabilitation of the disabled,” said Lootah. “It facilitates their coping with the loss of certain abilities. Involvement of the disabled in sports and social activities helps them improve their health and integrate socially.”

The project, which will begin in October, supports and promotes the disabled-friendly initiative of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.

Titled ‘My city is a place for all,’ Shaikh Hamdan’s initiative aims at transforming Dubai into a completely disabled-friendly city by 2020. Parks in Dubai already offer many disabled-friendly services and facilities: Free access, disabled-friendly entry and exit, reserved car parking, specially designed toilets and free wheelchair service.

As per the plan, 20 per cent of the play areas in the parks will be earmarked for children with disabilities. However, they will not be separated from other children.

“The play area and gaming equipment that will be allocated for disabled children will not be separated from the normal play areas. We want these to be included in the existing facilities so that it aids the interaction and integration of disabled children with other children.”

He said the project will begin with Zabeel Park and two community parks each in Deira and Bur Dubai.

“We will extend them to the other parks after that. Wherever there are disabled-friendly facilities, we will try to add more, and wherever such facilities are not there, we will make them available.”

He also urged those with special needs to make use of the exercise machines available in major parks in Dubai.

Lootah said the municipality has attached a lot of significance to people with special needs while designing streets, roads, markets and buildings in the emirate.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com