European Mobility Week 2020: How friendly is Maribor to people with disabilities

English

On Wednesday, 16 September, as part of the European Mobility Week 2020, several events of associations included in the Council of the Disabled of the Municipality of Maribor were presented at Trg svobode (Freedom square).

The Council of People with Disabilities was set up in 2009 to strengthen the cooperation of disability associations with various city institutions and services, and since then a large number of disability associations have participated in the Day of Mobility for People with Disabilities as part of European Mobility Week 16-16. September. As part of the event, the associations present and show their ways of mobility, aids, and specialties in overcoming obstacles in everyday life.

What are the obstacles that disabled people face in their daily lives was pointed in the campaign »I'll be right there«, where they raised awareness about unjustified parking in disabled parking spaces and the problems they have as a result. With wheelchairs and with the inscriptions »Just for a minute«, »I'll be right back, I'll just jump to the post office«, »I'll be right there«, they occupied 5 parking spaces between 8 am and 12 noon on Slomšek Square, where they wanted to draw attention to the lack of parking spaces for the disabled and the frequency of parking in these places by other drivers.

»We would like to point out that there are few disabled parking spaces and they are absolutely necessary because someone who walks easier and sees well can walk a few meters longer than someone who has problems. Disabled parking spaces are also intended for this. We notice that the situation is improving, but violators are always found, and this causes a bad mood among the disabled. Namely, disabled people cannot park in a normal parking place, disabled places are wide enough and wider than usual places.

The biggest problem for people with disabilities is that they can't park in the usual parking space, because when they have to take a wheelchair out of the car, they can't open the door in a normal parking lot, which means they can't pull the wheelchair to the side of their car and from the car to the wheelchair. Therefore, places of disability are wide enough to allow this. Because this is not possible anywhere else,« said Alenka Gajšt, an expert associate of the Association of Students with Disabilities of Slovenia, for the Radio Maribor.

Stefka Vegan was an athlete from head to toe when her life turned upside down on a fateful Sunday morning in 2007. That day, when she woke up she felt neither arms nor legs. She ended up in the intensive care unit, not knowing about herself for two months. It was only later that doctors found out that she was suffering from polyneuropathy - a disease of the peripheral nerves. After months of rehabilitation, she learned to eat, dress, and take care of herself again; and the disease encouraged her to fight, where every movement of her finger gave new hope. Today, despite his disability, she enjoys running sports, but in a wheelchair. In 2019, she took part in 30 running events, among them was also the Istrian Marathon, where she »wheelchaired« 21 km.

 A walk-in wheelchair from Glavni trg (Main square) to the underpass on Ljubljanska street demonstrated how accessible Maribor is for the disabled. Deputy Mayor Samo Peter Medved, who took part in the walk, was convinced of the »hidden traps« which are dangerous for the blind and partially sighted as well as those in wheelchairs.

 »Only on the way from the city center to the hospital there are three or four ramps, over which I do not want without help, because I can turn around,« said the famous Maribor athlete in a wheelchair Štefka Vegan, who in 2019 also participated in the Istrian Marathon and overcame 21 km with a wheelchair. The walk through the city illustrated the difficulties and dangers that disabled people face every day and how necessary is their involvement in the construction process if we want, that the city near river Drava is kind to all.

Slovenian

Na Trgu svobode se je v sredo, 16. 9. 2020, v sklopu Evropskega tedna mobilnosti 2020 predstavilo več dogodkov društev vključenih v Svet invalidov Mestne občine Maribor.

Svet invalidov je bil ustanovljen leta 2009 z namenom, da se okrepi sodelovanje invalidskih društev z različnimi mestnimi institucijami in službami in od takrat se invalidska društva v velikem številu udeležujejo Dneva mobilnosti invalidov, v okviru Evropskega tedna mobilnosti, ki poteka od 16. do 22. septembra. V okviru dogodka društva predstavijo in prikažejo svoje načine mobilnosti, pripomočke in posebnosti pri premagovanju ovir v vsakdanjem življenju.

S kakšnimi ovirami se v svojem vsakdanu srečujejo invalidi, so opozorili v akciji »Pridem takoj«, kjer so ozaveščali o neupravičenih parkiranjih na invalidskih parkirnih mestih in težavah, ki jih zaradi tega imajo. Z invalidskimi vozički in napisi »Samo za minutko po nekaj skočim«, »Takoj bom nazaj, samo na pošto skočim«, »Pridem takoj«, so zasedli 5 parkirnih mest v času med 8. in 12. uro na Slomškovem trgu, pri čemer so želeli opozoriti na pomanjkanje parkirnih mest za invalide ter na pogostost parkiranja na teh mestih s strani drugih voznikov.

»Želimo opozoriti na to, da je invalidskih parkirnih mest malo in so ta nujno potrebna, kajti nekdo, ki lažje hodi in dobro vidi, lahko gre nekaj metrov dlje peš kot nekdo, ki ima težave. Temu so invalidska parkirna mesta tudi namenjena. Opažamo, da se situacija izboljšuje, se pa zmeraj najdejo kršitelji, med invalidi pa to povzroča slabo voljo. Invalidi namreč ne morejo parkirati na običajno parkirno mesto, invalidska mesta so dovolj široka in širša od običajnih mest.

Največja težava invalidov je, da se potem oni ne morejo parkirati na običajno parkirno mesto, kajti ko morajo vzeti invalidski voziček iz avta, ne morejo tako na stežaj, na navadnem parkirišču odpreti vrat, kar pomeni, da ne morejo pritegniti vozička ob stran svojega avtomobila, da se potem presedejo iz avtomobila na voziček. Zato so invalidska mesta dovolj široka, da to omogočajo. Kajti nikjer drugje to ni izvedljivo,« je za jutranji program Radia Maribor poudarila Alenka Gajšt, strokovna sodelavka Društvo Študentov Invalidov Slovenije.

Štefka Vegan je bila športnica od glave do pet, ko se ji je leta 2007 usodnega nedeljskega jutra življenje obrnilo na glavo. Namreč, ko se je zbudila ni čutila ne rok ne nog, bila je hroma od vratu navzdol. Končala je v oddelku za intenzivno nego, pri čemer dva meseca sploh ni vedela zase. Zdravniki so šele pozneje ugotovili, da boleha za polinevropatijo – bolezensko prizadetost perifernih živcev. Po mesecih rehabilitacije se je ponovno učila jesti, oblačiti in skrbeti zase; bolezen pa jo je spodbudila k boju, kjer je vsak gib na prstu dajal novo upanje. Danes kljub invalidnosti uživa v športu, in sicer v teku. V letu 2019 se je udeležila kar 30 tekaških prireditev ter se udeležila tudi Istrskega maratona, kjer je »vozičkala« kar 21 km.

Kako dostopen je Maribor invalidom, je demonstrativno pokazal sprehod z invalidskimi vozički od Glavnega trga do podvoza na Ljubljanski ulici. O ''skritih pasteh'' v obliki majhnih robov, ki so nevarni tako za slepe in slabovidne kakor tistim na vozičkih, se je prepričal tudi podžupan Samo Peter Medved, ki se je udeležil sprehoda.

»Samo na poti od centra mesta do bolnice so tri ali štiri klančine, preko katerih brez pomoči nočem, ker se lahko zvrnem,« je dejala znana mariborska športnica na invalidskem vozičku Štefka Vegan, ki se je leta 2019 med drugim udeležila tudi Istrskega maratona in premagala 21 km. Klančine, ki so sicer narejene, so v praksi pokazale, da so za invalida na vozičku prestrme in nevarne. Tako je sprehod skozi mesto ponazoril, s kakšnimi tegobami in nevarnostmi se vsakodnevno invalidi srečujejo in kako potrebna je njihova vključenost v sam proces izvedbenih del, če želimo, da bo mesto od Dravi prijazno za vse.