Engine of integration: Ruth Preuße (at the lectern), as chairwoman of the Participation Advisory Board, had invited to the expert discussion in the district office. © Claudia Fiebrandt-Kirmeyer/LRA Erding
Ten years ago, the then Prime Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) promised that Bavaria would be barrier-free by 2023. Bavaria is still a long way from that. However, a lot has already been achieved, also in the district of Erding.
Erding - "Accessibility in public spaces" was the focus of a three-and-a-half-hour expert discussion to which the district's participation advisory board had invited to the district office on Friday.
Chairwoman from the very beginning in July 2017 is Ruth Preuße, who has been taking care of social issues in the Erdinger Land in the district office since 1965 (!). The Participation Advisory Board includes local politicians as well as representatives of associations and self-help groups. It was emphasized several times that participation means "independently, without outside help".
The importance of accessibility was illustrated by Prussia with impressive figures. "There are about 1.2 million severely disabled people in Bavaria" – with a population of around 14 million. In the district of Erding, there are 5800 people with two disabilities, 2700 with three. "Accessibility is not only important for them, but also for all people who are temporarily impaired, who are dependent on a walking aid due to their age, and mothers and fathers with strollers."
Bavaria's Minister of Social Affairs, Ulrike Scharf (CSU), acknowledged that Seehofer's goal would be missed, but also said: "In the past eight years, we have invested 935 million euros in a barrier-free Bavaria, and a further 153 million euros have been set aside in the current budget." Barrier-free access is not a luxury for them, "that's a human right". It never stops. Scharf defined several fields of action: local transport, health & care, education, digital accessibility and barrier-free language, for her "important not least for the protection of democracy". The government has its own committee, which is chaired by all twelve ministries. Accessibility must "also and above all take place in the mind".
Barbara Schelle, master builder in Freising, reported on the fundamental redesign of Freising's old town, in which accessibility plays an important role. For example, there is an "obstacle-free corridor" in the main street as the central axis, on which the visually impaired and blind can move safely. In addition, traces were milled into the polished pavement for orientation. According to Schelle, attention is paid to an "obstacle-free edge of the house" in the side streets, which serves as orientation for the visually impaired. The city architect admitted that the renovation was a perpetual learning process. For example, it was discovered completely unexpectedly that edges that help the blind had led to "people without disabilities falling and in some cases suffering fractures". In this context, Erding's Lord Mayor Max Götz said: "We have also had this experience at the new barrier-free bus stops in front of the town halls." Because if there is no bus, the curb is so high "that we now have to make improvements".
Schelle said that in an old town you are "always faced with the problem of many different users and their interests". It is a literally rocky road that is not over yet. As a next measure, she announced that she would create information for the visually impaired about public facilities, as well as make the way from the train station to the city center barrier-free. "After all, we are celebrating 1300 years of the city of Freising next year and are expecting many guests," says Schelle.
Götz reported on the barrier-free conversion of Landshuter Straße. He demanded "more money and expertise" from the Free State of Bavaria in the implementation. And he criticized the protection of historical monuments, which often blocks the reconstruction of an old town and threatens municipalities with the repayment of subsidies. For him, an age-appropriate redevelopment of the city would require more seating. But Götz also warned: "We must not forget the deaf."
Mayor Rainer Streu showed what accessibility can look like in a smaller community using Forsterns as an example. "At first glance, you wouldn't believe how many stumbling blocks there are," says Streu, looking at bus bays that are too narrow, trees that have grown into sidewalks or transverse edges at a zebra crossing. During walks with citizens, a list of deficiencies has been drawn up, and the first areas have already been renovated. Accessibility costs 4.5 million euros in forestry alone, Streu summed up.
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Architect Uwe Gutjahr presented a variety of ways in which accessibility can be implemented. He even mentioned the replication of exhibits in museums so that they could be felt by the visually impaired. "That, too, is participation," says Gutjahr.
And Marilies Huber from the Workers' Welfare Association, presented the international project "Wheelmap", an interactive map for tablets or smartphones that shows how barrier-free publicly accessible buildings are. Ham