Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the completion of 82 per cent of retrofitting buildings and facilities to make them compatible with the ‘Dubai Building Code - Accessibility for People of Determination’.
Abdul Rahman Al Janahi, Director of Building and Facilities, Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector, RTA.
“During the first and second phases of the project, which had been completed recently, the Building and Facilities Department retrofitted several locations, including RTA Head Office, Customer Happiness Centres in Umm Ramool, Deira, and Al Barsha, as well as several bus stations at Al Quoz, Ibn Battuta, and Deira City Centre. Works also included retrofitting the multi-level parking terminals at Naif, Al Rigga, and Carlton in addition to the old and new Sabkha and Ghubaiba.”
The project included tactile guiding paths both internally and externally for the visually impaired, wheel-chair ramps, and signage, toilets, automatic doors, and audio enhancements, such as a microphone at the reception desk to communicate with people with hearing impairments. In addition, counters have been allocated for people with mobility challenges, braille signage as well as special smart phones to assist those with hearing and visual impairments, he added.
100 per cent target
“RTA is currently gearing up to initiate Phase 3 of retrofitting its buildings and facilities to achieve a 100 per cent completion rate according to the 2023 plan. This phase encompasses ticket kiosks at marine transport stations, Al Jaddaf marine transport station, and bus stations at the Mall of the Emirates, Al Karama, Al Qusais, and Jebel Ali, concluded Al Janahi.
Gold certificate
RTA obtained the gold certificate in the ‘Accessible for All’ category from the Dubai Municipality in recognition of its efforts to retrofit customer happiness centres to meet accessibility standards and requirements.
RTA also provides ‘Mobile Customer services’ for people of determination in their homes by providing access for employees and customer services through a bus equipped with an elevator and escalator, in which customers are received and process their transactions.
