In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska visited a hospital, where they got acquainted with the project to create barrier-free routes called “Movement without Barriers”.
“In the pilot cities of Ukraine, together with local authorities, we are starting to develop and implement barrier-free routes. This is a specific transport and pedestrian route determined by the community, which will be organised as accessible as possible for people with disabilities and people with limited mobility. Along this route, as many locations as possible will be barrier-free, including intersections, crosswalks, schools, kindergartens, cafes, public transport, etc. There will be navigation signs, tactile markings and other solutions that will ensure not only comfort but also safety of people,” said Oleksii Kuleba.
He also stressed that with this project, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development aims to create an example of what urban space can and should look like in the context of barrier-free accessibility – comprehensively, efficiently and safely.
“Communities independently choose and propose routes that will be made barrier-free within the project. However, it is important that they include as many objects of social significance as possible, contain and connect important locations in the urban environment. For example, like the military hospital in Kyiv, which is a key facility for the capital, or, for example, the Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro,” explained Oleksii Kuleba.
This year, barrier-free routes with convenient entrances and approaches, transport, stops, sidewalks, and public places will gradually appear in 12 cities: Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Kropyvnytskyi, Lviv, Rivne, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Slavutych, Ternopil, Bucha, and the village of Opishnia.
In the capital, for example, this area will include the modernisation of the Central Railway Station with a looped route to (and from) Khreshchatyk and the Main Military Clinical Hospital.
“We often have to remind ourselves that barrier-free accessibility is not a single ramp or an ‘island’ in a sea of unfriendly space, but the whole of this space. Or, to begin with, a coherent, unobstructed route between home, work, medicine, and education. Right now, the state is taking a big step towards making this a reality,” Olena Zelenska said.
The First Lady also stressed that cooperation with business representatives was important within the framework of the Movement Without Barriers project.
“Of course, the state and communities cannot do this without the cooperation of all the facilities along these routes, including businesses that are or will be part of our Business Without Barriers community: retail chains, banks, and other institutions are already changing to meet users and, we expect, will help smaller businesses do the same,” the First Lady concluded.
According to the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development, the experience of the pilot communities will be scaled up to other settlements that will join the project. The Ministry is also working to improve building standards for accessibility and inclusiveness.