It took an Olympics and a Paralympics to do it.... but now Athens can be truly proud of becoming a more accessible, user-friendly city. The sports venues, the athletes' village and the streets of central Athens, plus shops, tavernas and cafés have all been praised for the accessibility improvements for wheelchair users, visually impaired and older people. Sure, it was a lot easier for everyone to get around these last few weeks. And not forgetting the excellent public transport system of fairly accessible trains, stations, trams, Metros and buses, which all helped to play their part. Sadly accessible TAXIS are scarce (- I know only of two), and they are only available at a scandalous price, so something must be done about that. Amazingly the Acropolis has been equipped with a temporary wheelchair lift which scales the north wall like an ancient siege machine, worthy of Archimedes himself. If you have a head (and a stomach) for heights, try it!
01 October 2004
01 July 2004
17 June 2004
Sdnet:English Homepage
Sdnet:English Homepage
This is where Social Dialogue (between Employers and Trades Unions) meets Disability on the Web. A site we set up for the SDV-NetJob project funded by the European Union in 2001 -2003.
The site is still functioning - and looking for new funding - or perhaps it needs to become integrated in another on-line service in the employment/disability field. Any ideas for future development would be gratefully received.
Ivor.
17.06 2004
This is where Social Dialogue (between Employers and Trades Unions) meets Disability on the Web. A site we set up for the SDV-NetJob project funded by the European Union in 2001 -2003.
The site is still functioning - and looking for new funding - or perhaps it needs to become integrated in another on-line service in the employment/disability field. Any ideas for future development would be gratefully received.
Ivor.
17.06 2004
07 June 2004
The Olympic Municipality, Maroussi, Athens
The town I live in is Maroussi, an urban municipality in the northern area of Athens, Greece. You'll hear much more about Maroussi when the Olympic Games start here (in Athens) on 13 August 2004.
Sorry to start with a complaint - but I want to draw attention to the problems concerning physical access for pedestrians, including - of course - wheelchair users, parents with babies in push-chairs, old people taking their shopping trollies to the market and everyone else.
The Municipality of Maroussi, better late than never, has been working for a couple of months now to upgrade the narrow streets and pavements in the centre of Maroussi. There were many problems to address:
- cars parked illegally (including on pavements)
- uneven road surfaces, potholes, badly mended holes
- cracked and uneven pavements
- pavements filled with shop signs, traffic signs and various posts, blocking the way for pedestrians
- bus shelters which fill the entire width of pavements, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road
- overhanging signboards and building structures (- mind your head!)
- and just about any other difficulty you can think of.
So.... I have been hoping for big improvements.
It seems that the chosen improvement scheme will fall far short of cretaing an accessible town centre in Maroussi-
WHY?- Many roads are being laid with rough-cut cobblestones. They may look quaint and 'old-fashioned', but they are not suitable:
- rough-cut cobbles increase the noise from traffic
- they are also very bumpy (and dangerous) for cyclists and people crossing the road with prams, pushcahirs, wheelchairs, shopping trollies.
Rough cut cobblestones are also being used for pavements in many areas (e.g. Mitropoleous Street, where they are admittedly a different colour), and here they are set at least 1.5 centimetres apart, so they are NOT good for people to walk on (e.g. women with stilletoes - of which there are many these days!), and of course, older people who may or may not need a walking stick to help them walk.
- Many pavements are being provided with tactile paving routes to help blind and partially-sighted people to find their way. This is a good idea! But you have to design and lay these routes properly. In the places thay have appeared one would think that these tactile paving stones are intend for "crazy paving":
- sometimes they make zig-zags around every tree on the street, instead of going in a simple straight line!
- Other places tactile routes appear and finish without any warning.
That is not gping to help blind people get around more easily.
Of course, we have not yet seen the full, new Maroussi road system in use yet, but it will undoubtedly be finished (just?) before the Olympic Games. Maybe - if there is still time to avoid a catastrophe for the resident and visiting pedestrians, the Municipality should review its road and pavement designs and make the necessary improvements! I would be glad to help point out the problem areas and suggest improvements.
Otherwise, when the Paralympic athletes and visitors arrive here in September, there is likely to be a global outcry against the world's most infamous inaccessible municipality!
Can we fix it in time? I hope so!
Signing off,
Ivor Ambrose, Maroussi.
7 June 2004.
Sorry to start with a complaint - but I want to draw attention to the problems concerning physical access for pedestrians, including - of course - wheelchair users, parents with babies in push-chairs, old people taking their shopping trollies to the market and everyone else.
The Municipality of Maroussi, better late than never, has been working for a couple of months now to upgrade the narrow streets and pavements in the centre of Maroussi. There were many problems to address:
- cars parked illegally (including on pavements)
- uneven road surfaces, potholes, badly mended holes
- cracked and uneven pavements
- pavements filled with shop signs, traffic signs and various posts, blocking the way for pedestrians
- bus shelters which fill the entire width of pavements, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road
- overhanging signboards and building structures (- mind your head!)
- and just about any other difficulty you can think of.
So.... I have been hoping for big improvements.
It seems that the chosen improvement scheme will fall far short of cretaing an accessible town centre in Maroussi-
WHY?- Many roads are being laid with rough-cut cobblestones. They may look quaint and 'old-fashioned', but they are not suitable:
- rough-cut cobbles increase the noise from traffic
- they are also very bumpy (and dangerous) for cyclists and people crossing the road with prams, pushcahirs, wheelchairs, shopping trollies.
Rough cut cobblestones are also being used for pavements in many areas (e.g. Mitropoleous Street, where they are admittedly a different colour), and here they are set at least 1.5 centimetres apart, so they are NOT good for people to walk on (e.g. women with stilletoes - of which there are many these days!), and of course, older people who may or may not need a walking stick to help them walk.
- Many pavements are being provided with tactile paving routes to help blind and partially-sighted people to find their way. This is a good idea! But you have to design and lay these routes properly. In the places thay have appeared one would think that these tactile paving stones are intend for "crazy paving":
- sometimes they make zig-zags around every tree on the street, instead of going in a simple straight line!
- Other places tactile routes appear and finish without any warning.
That is not gping to help blind people get around more easily.
Of course, we have not yet seen the full, new Maroussi road system in use yet, but it will undoubtedly be finished (just?) before the Olympic Games. Maybe - if there is still time to avoid a catastrophe for the resident and visiting pedestrians, the Municipality should review its road and pavement designs and make the necessary improvements! I would be glad to help point out the problem areas and suggest improvements.
Otherwise, when the Paralympic athletes and visitors arrive here in September, there is likely to be a global outcry against the world's most infamous inaccessible municipality!
Can we fix it in time? I hope so!
Signing off,
Ivor Ambrose, Maroussi.
7 June 2004.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)