Barrier-free Dachau: seal as a guide

The city of Dachau wants to honor facilities that are handicapped accessible or at least barrier-free.

The disability officer is now active.

Dachau

- It can affect anyone: Accidents, illness or even old age sometimes trigger physical limitations that make everyday life difficult.

So that citizens with handicaps can cope better, the city now wants to support.

A “Barrier-free Dachau” seal is intended to honor facilities that are handicapped accessible or at least barrier-free.

A unanimous decision by the Family and Social Committee cleared the way for the "Barrier-free Dachau" seal.

"That would be a great thing," said family officer Elisabeth Zimmermann (CSU).

In view of the tight budget, the plan is to be implemented as sparingly as possible.

Specifically, at his own suggestion, Hartmut Baumgärtner, Dachau's disability officer, will draw up a list of medical practices, shops and bars that have adapted to citizens with restrictions.

This “guide for seniors and people with disabilities” will then be integrated into the city's website, and the city map for the disabled will also be supplemented accordingly.

Anke Drexler (SPD) supported this procedure, which triggers costs of 1400 euros, who asked “for a smaller entry first” and for “let things start slowly”.

In a “second step” one could “then maybe expand” the topic.

Elisabeth Zimmermann (CSU) is also in favor of “not doing this oversized, please”, “otherwise no one will see through”.

The Greens, on the other hand, would have wished for more commitment, whose parliamentary group had put the barrier-free seal on the agenda.

Thomas Kreß spoke out in favor of the web-based variant with a database.

This variant, estimated by the administration at 6,000 euros, would be "digitized and modern, that rounds off the program".

With the vote of the city councils, Baumgärtner is now tackling the problem. All owners of shops, bars, hotels, doctors' surgeries and other publicly accessible places are called upon to report, provided that the premises are accessible to people with disabilities. Baumgärtner will then - with the support of VdK district chairman Anton Hassmann - check the conditions and assign suitable pictograms for orientation.

It is important to Baumgärtner “that we don't put a seal on it for something that cannot then be found”. Not only completely barrier-free rooms come into question. That would mean that the practice or the bar is just as easily accessible for citizens in wheelchairs and without outside help as it is for blind, deaf or mentally handicapped people. Baumgärtner knows that there is usually no such comprehensive accessibility. Often there are individual reliefs that can be helpful for those affected. For example an elevator, but no orientation aids for the visually or hearing impaired.

This is precisely why the disabled person's officer wants to take a look on site, he has already prepared a checklist.

And maybe he could give one or the other food for thought during the inspection, where improvements are still possible with little means.

Baumgärtner is now hoping for a lot of feedback at baumgaertner.hartmut@onlinehome.de for the benefit of all people with disabilities.

PETRA SCHAFFLIK