Prague is not wheelchair accessible! Exits and sidewalks are missing, but mainly the interest of politicians
Ema, a wheelchair user from Prague, got into a wheelchair in 2005. “I was left alone with two children, so it was quite difficult after the accident,” he remembers. After 18 years of handicap, she could no longer tolerate the current policy towards wheelchair users. Paradoxically, the situation is worsening in the field of facilities for the handicapped. That’s why she founded the Facebook group “Not only toilets for everyone”, because the most acute problem for wheelchair users is the lack of toilets in Prague and the city’s lack of barrier-free accessibility.
Invalids after a spinal cord injury have, for example, a problem with their internal organs. When they need to go to the toilet, roughly eighty percent of the time they don’t have the option. “I’ve been in a wheelchair for less than two years, since 2020,” Anna, the second wheelchair user, tells Blesk. The view of the world has changed a lot. “Not only physically, but also socially. People react to you differently. You also perceive the environment differently,” says Anna.
A wheelchair does not necessarily mean a mental problem!
“The biggest stereotype is that wheelchair users do almost nothing. He just sat in the wheelchair and sits. They have a good time when they come somewhere and the chairs are occupied,” Ema thinks. However, the majority of society has no idea what wheelchair users face on a daily basis. These are affected internal organs, some even paralyzed, and there are also arthrosis, osteoporosis and other diseases that make life unpleasant even beyond problems with accessibility. “It seems to me that a lot of people look at us as demented,” Anna describes her own two-year experience.
Not a wheelchair user like a wheelchair user
According to Anna, there is also a generational difference here. “I see, for example, among senior citizens that they often don’t know how to treat me,” the wheelchair user thinks. The reaction in younger people is better. “A lot of people think that a wheelchair user is automatically mentally disabled. And that may not be true,” adds Emma. A big problem is the absence of education on the part of the state. According to both women in wheelchairs, the state should show children from the first grade of school that there are not only healthy people, but that it is normal to meet people with disabilities.
In addition, accessibility is not only about wheelchair users. This also includes people on crutches, parents with strollers and the elderly. In addition, a lot of wartime immigrants from Ukraine have recently come to Prague, mainly mothers with children, seniors and the disabled. However, as far as education is concerned, Ema praises the media campaign of the CZEPA organization, which warned people on television and social networks not to get into a wheelchair unnecessarily because of their activities. For example, dart into shallow or unknown waters.
According to both women, the problem is with politics, those who decide on the legislation of laws, who do not know what they are talking about and what they are deciding. The theme for is not attractive. “The moment a politician starts to consider a topic socially important, he can use the idea,” says Ema. She herself often goes to interpellate for the removal of barriers in the city district and the municipality.
“And a clean west, I like that”
Disabled toilets are the biggest problem for disabled people. They are missing and when they are already somewhere, they cannot be used. It serves as a warehouse or an exit for personnel. At the same time, according to the decree, barrier-free toilets in public buildings must be accessible to everyone. Emma has already had some partial successes. After an interview last fall, she received a statement that Prague 1 always has at least one barrier-free ToiToi at its public events. In addition, the advantage of a barrier-free toilet is that it is accessible to everyone, including “healthy” people.
Public vs Private Sphere
A graduate of the University of Oxford in England, Anna, I think private businesses are more responsive to customer feedback than the state. However, Emma has a different experience. However, both ladies agree on the poor condition of the toilets and platforms, for example, in OC Nový Smíchov. “If there are sidewalks and crosswalks in the public space that are not barrier-free, it’s a much bigger problem,” says Anna. A company can build a wheelchair-accessible toilet, but a wheelchair user may not be able to access it because he has a problem with moving around Prague.
Ema agrees, but I still think that there is a lack of toilets for wheelchair users in particular. At worst, she begs pedestrians who carry her to the curb or a few steps in a business. Maybe someone will help her at the door, but she would like to use the toilet herself. The center of Prague is not very wheelchair accessible. It’s not as bad as it was 30 years ago, but it’s improving very slowly. For example, Anna was surprised by the senate. “What other building than the senate should be barrier-free?” he asks. The situation is not ideal even at the municipality. Wheelchair users must enter the building through the rear entrance from the direction of Old Town Square. There is no platform service on the first floor, there is no bell, the accessible toilet is only on the ground floor.
Surfaces
For wheelchair users, the worst surfaces are cat heads, typical of Prague, or most car exits from garages. Asphalt, concrete or larger tiles are best. According to Ema, the problem is that Prague cannot make compromises between preservationists and barrier-free accessibility, like Western countries. “Each state has its own level of treatment of its disabled citizens,” says Ema.
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What needs to be changed?
It is necessary to simplify not only the administration, but also the surfaces. Comply with the valid barrier-free decree 398/2009Coll. “We need to raise awareness and understanding. People who have mobility problems must be seen in society,” says Ema. If wheelchair users cannot use public space due to the inaccessibility of Prague, they cannot become part of society. At the same time, the politicians do not think that this is such a big problem that they want to solve it.
“In 2022, I find it absolutely scandalous that we have to demand such a matter of course. It is enshrined in legislation and yet, from a social point of view, we are not counted. Are we supposed to crawl up the steps of the city hall like they used to do at the US Capitol?” Ema asks in conclusion. Unfortunately, it is said that many wheelchair users distance themselves from social activism.
I think of everyone in the municipality
However, Tadeáš Provazník, the municipality’s press spokesman, assures that the capital’s management is trying to remove barriers to barrier-free access for citizens to a large extent and from public places. With every reconstruction of tram stops and other public buildings, the town hall keeps accessibility in mind.“We are also continuing to build barrier-free subway stations, where most of them are now easily accessible for wheelchair users and other disabled people,” opposes Tadeáš Provazník.
It is said that the municipality also had an analysis drawn up in previous years for a new plan for the development of sports and sports grounds in Prague. “We found that currently only about one in ten facilities is barrier-free, and we are gradually making improvements,” he says. The sports development plan aims to improve this situation, which aims to increase the accessibility of sports venues for the disabled, particularly through the construction of new facilities. Professional groups and organizations for wheelchair athletes can help.
Vltava Philharmonic, barrier-free
“With barrier-free access, we also plan to build the Vltava Philharmonic and modify its surroundings,” says Tadeáš Provazník. There is also a commission directly in the capital that deals with this topic on a regular basis – Council Commission m of Prague for pedestrians and accessibility. The town hall is said to also focus on cultural and tourist facilities. “For example, an expert analysis was created, so Prague can make its facilities more accessible and think about people with health disabilities when organizing festivals or other events,” adds the conclusion.
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Prague is not very barrier-free.
Author: Respondent Blesku