Accessibility: Freisinger restaurant visits (still) with many obstacles

Created: 02/11/2022, 08:00

By: Helmut Hobmaier

Stairs end of the line: In Freising and Moosburg, the restaurants in the old town area are usually inaccessible to people with walking disabilities or wheelchair users without outside help.

© dpa

Especially restaurants in the old town of Freising or Moosburg are often difficult to reach for people with walking disabilities.

An inventory.

District of Freising

– Accessibility is a noble goal.

Whether on train platforms, in authorities - or in restaurants and hotels.

There is also a large-scale campaign by the Bavarian state government - "Bavaria barrier-free".

And the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder even says: "Accessibility is a Christian, an ethical requirement for our country." However, the reality often looks very different.

Tagblatt reader Manfred Estler once took a close look at Freising's gastronomy and checked "how accessible the Freising restaurants are".

His “bitter insight”: “Anyone who has mobility problems, is dependent on a walker or even a wheelchair – and this group is larger than some might think – often has a bad hand when visiting a restaurant in Freising.”

"Quiet places" are often in the basement

Estler: “It often starts at the entrance, which in many places can only be reached via several steps.

There are also some steps to overcome inside the guest rooms.

But it gets really bad when you have to visit the 'quiet place'.

In some places you have to overcome more than ten steps on the way to the basement.” Ground-level disabled toilets are “absolutely scarce, as are stair lifts that can be used when needed”.

In a whole series of bars in the immediate vicinity of Freising, "all the defects identified can be observed".

According to Estler, accessibility is even stipulated in the Restaurant Act.

That's true, but this passage primarily refers to new buildings - to existing buildings only if "significant conversion measures", in particular a new toilet building or a general renovation of the restaurant, are carried out.

Quick solutions in the inventory often impossible

Elisabeth Hofmeier, District Chairwoman of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association, confirms: In the case of existing restaurants, accessibility is by no means mandatory, but voluntary - "every company can decide for itself".

But you can get certified as a barrier-free company and then advertise with it.

Your country inn and hotel in Hetzenhausen, for example, has a ramp at the entrance and a lift with which you can reach a disabled toilet.

"However, in many restaurants, accessibility is not at all feasible due to the structural conditions," explains Hofmeier.

Christl Steinhart, spokeswoman for the city of Freising, also argues that.

In her experience, the Freising restaurateurs are “expressly concerned with the lack of barriers or accessibility”, as they also accommodate families, for example with prams.

"Quick solutions" outside of general conversions or even new buildings are "unfortunately hardly feasible in the existing building".

Historical old town a difficult place

In general, accessibility is also an important topic for the city of Freising, which is also supported - "through the know-how, the expertise and the initiatives of the forces involved in Agenda21 work," as Steinhart emphasizes.

The city's tourist information has specifically carried out a query to the catering establishments for individual advice, especially for visitors with disabilities, to what extent their premises are accessible for the disabled.

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(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

Companies whose buildings are in the historic old town in particular can often only be reached by stairs - "their indoor catering and sanitary facilities are therefore unfortunately unsuitable for people with severe walking disabilities or people who are dependent on a wheelchair," as Steinhart concedes.

The associated outdoor gastronomy, on the other hand, can of course also be used by people with severe walking disabilities in the warm season - also in connection with the public, disabled-friendly sanitary facilities.

The tourist information provides information here on request "competently and purposefully".

However, there are no separate brochures or leaflets on the subject.

But that is exactly what Manfred Estler demands.

Since the deficits in the old town area can hardly be remedied quickly, on the one hand the issue of accessibility should be placed "right at the top" in new buildings or renovations - and on the other hand all barrier-free restaurants in Freising should be listed, for example in the form of a flyer that is also published on the Internet .

Top preliminary work by the Moosburg seniors

The senior citizens' council of the city of Moosburg has already done this in an exemplary manner.

All locations that are fully or partially barrier-free can be found on his homepage.

The criteria for this are as follows:

•  completely barrier-free,

•  barrier-free entrance, toilet facilities only suitable for walkers,

•  barrier-free entrance, no customer toilets (e.g. bakeries),

•  Steps at the entrance (assistance is provided), toilets large enough for wheelchairs and walkers, and

•  Steps at the entrance (assistance will be provided), toilets only suitable for walkers.

This is still not satisfactory

According to the Senior Citizens' Advisory Board, the evaluation should help people not to waste time and energy with failed attempts.

In Moosburg, too, "only a few companies met the requirements of real accessibility".

However, the Advisory Board does not want to pillory the restaurateurs: the beautiful old town of Moosburg was built when accessibility and integration were still foreign words.

This is not satisfactory for Manfred Estler: At the moment, the only thing that remains for those affected is "unfortunately the unpleasant reality that in a whole series of cases they are absolutely dependent on help when visiting restaurants, or - what is even worse - are excluded".

You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.