José Freitas de Oliveira, a candidate for Faro City Council, has drawn attention to a number of obstacles that block accessibility for both wheelchairs and pushchairs.
The independent candidate, backed by the Alternativa Democrática Nacional (ADN) for Faro’s City Council, has pledged to create a municipal office dedicated to tackling pedestrian mobility issues and improving accessibility for people with disabilities.
Many town centres, from Faro to Silves, are paved with uneven cobblestones, riddled with potholes, and sudden kerb drops. Cars parked on pavements, poorly designed ramps and a lack of dropped kerbs often force wheelchair users onto the road. Public transport adds to the challenge: not all buses have lifts, and many train stations still lack step-free access.That is if the bus turns up in the first place.
Older buildings and narrow streets make retrofitting accessibility features costly and slow, while local authorities are criticised for weak enforcement of disability laws.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency during a campaign event in Faro’s city centre, organised to highlight the “problems of pedestrian mobility”, José Freitas de Oliveira pointed to the “degradation of pavements and the many obstacles preventing people with disabilities from moving around safely.”
“The pavements are full of holes, cars are parked illegally on them, there are steps and other barriers that block the way for wheelchair users and even for parents with pushchairs,” he said.
For Freitas de Oliveira, whose party is contesting the Faro municipal elections for the first time, this is “an unacceptable situation” that successive local administrations “have stubbornly failed to address — in a city that wants to be modern and accessible to everyone.”
In response to what he described as “major shortcomings in mobility” identified by his party, the candidate proposed the creation of a municipal office “to help solve some of the problems affecting people with disabilities.” “We’ve identified several areas in central Faro with barriers such as steps, parked vehicles, signs and other objects that block movement — all of which require urgent attention,” he emphasised.
Freitas de Oliveira also cited as an example of mobility constraints the existence of buildings “approved by the council that have no lift,” which he said illustrates “the need for the municipality to review its accessibility criteria for construction and planning permission.”
According to the candidate, the proposed municipal office would also have a social outreach role — “visiting homes to assist residents, both elderly and young, who struggle with mobility.”
The party argues that “inclusion and accessibility must become genuine priorities in local governance” and has pledged to put mobility “at the heart of its municipal agenda” if it wins the upcoming election in Faro.
Alongside José Freitas de Oliveira, the candidates running for Faro City Council in the 12th October local elections are: Cristóvão Norte (“Faro Capital de Confiança”, a coalition of PSD/IL/CDS-PP/PAN/MPT), António Miguel Pina (PS), Adriana Marques Silva (Livre), Duarte Baltazar (CDU – a PCP/PEV coalition), José Moreira (BE), Pedro Oliveira (Volt Portugal) and Pedro Pinto (Chega).
In the 2021 elections, the PSD-led coalition won six of the nine council seats, while the Socialist Party took the remaining three. The CDU, which came third, and Chega, in fourth, failed to secure any representation.
