City of Bruges places 40 public wheelchair-friendly picnic tables

With the 40 wheelchair-friendly benches, the City pushes maximum accessibility forward. “We invest heavily in our public domain so that all users can enjoy it.”

With the 40 wheelchair benches, the City pushes maximum accessibility forward.

With the 40 wheelchair benches, the City pushes maximum accessibility forward. "We invest heavily in our public domain so that all users can enjoy it. We lay out small squares for the children, we renew the roads, we create meeting spaces… 

The roll-out of the wheelchair picnic tables is a positive signal to vulnerable people. We also want to give them the opportunity to discover and enjoy our public domain. We are putting out 18 tables now and foresee an additional order. There will be a total of 40, spread across the inner city and boroughs," explains alderman Mercedes Van Volcem.

Giving space to people with a ‘disability’

Alderman for Welfare Pieter Marechal: "As a city of Bruges, we intend to consider accessibility for all our residents when making our policy choices. Since the recruitment of the accessibility officer, we have focused even more extensively and structurally on this." 

We layout small squares for the children, we renew the roads, we create meeting spaces… The roll-out of the wheelchair-friendly picnic tables is a positive signal to the vulnerable groups. We also want to give them the opportunity to discover and enjoy our public domain. We are putting out 18 tables now and foresee an additional order. There will be a total of 40, spread across the inner city and boroughs," explains alderman Mercedes Van Volcem.

Wheelchair accessible surface

The wheelchair-friendly picnic tables are not that different from the original ones and offer numerous advantages. "With the adapted picnic tables, both wheelchair users and non-wheelchair users sit at the same eye level. This provides the necessary comfort. With an extended tabletop, wheelchair users can easily pass under the table to take a seat. Very practical to fully enjoy the company.

The picnic tables will be placed on a wheelchair-accessible surface. The road leading to them will also meet the necessary accessibility requirements. "This way, wheelchair users can easily use these enjoyment spots on our public domain. We count on our citizens to give priority to our wheelchair users at these tables", says alderman Van Volcem.