Freedom of movement: is a full-fledged barrier-free vacation at sea possible in Ukraine?
Which resorts have inclusive beaches for people with limited mobility – a research by Irina Savina on the website “RBK-Ukraine” www.rbc.ua.
Summer vacation on Ukrainian beaches is considered more affordable than abroad. But when the word “affordable” is mentioned, most often it is about price, but not about physical availability.
Inclusive (accessible) infrastructure in Ukraine is still only at the initial level – there are not always exits from sidewalks, and ramps are often made at such an angle that a person simply cannot physically go down or go up it.
The beaches should also be accessible in the same way for everyone, including people with disabilities. Are there many such places in Ukraine and where you can relax on the water with such an infrastructure? RBC-Ukraine has studied which seaside resorts and beaches in Ukraine have everything you need for the rest of people with limited mobility.
What should be an inclusive beach
The cleanest and most comfortable beaches in the world receive the so-called “Blue Flag”.
This is a certificate that confirms that the beach not only meets the requirements for cleanliness and comfort, but is also specially equipped for convenient use by people with limited mobility, including people with disabilities. People with disabilities are often unable to get to beaches simply because there is no adequate infrastructure.
What should be an inclusive beach and what requirements should it meet?
According to the DBN standards adopted in Ukraine on the inclusiveness of buildings and structures, as well as according to one of the criteria for awarding the international Blue Flag certificate, such a beach should be equipped with:
– Convenient approaches and descents to the beach: smooth descent or lift;
– Ramps with handrails leading into the water so that the stroller can reach the water. The width should correspond to the dimensions of the stroller – at least 1-1.5 meters, the angle of inclination should be comfortable to safely descend and ascend to the beach;
– Toilets, showers and changing rooms with a passage width of at least one meter, doors must open outward, in direct access for people in wheelchairs;
– Lifeguard tower with a rescuer on duty;
– First-aid post;
– Sun loungers or sheds for relaxation.
Ideally, an inclusive beach should have a dedicated amphibious trolley. Thanks to such a device, it is possible to bring a person into the water without spoiling his personal wheelchair, which is expensive and is not designed for use in salty sea water.
A couple more important points: you need public transport to get to the beach, provide parking spaces for people with disabilities near the beach.
Odessa: there are beaches, but getting there is problematic
On June 8, a fully inclusive beach for people with disabilities was opened on the Dolphin beach in Odessa. It was built for the money of a private investor and in all respects surprised the inhabitants of Odessa.
The beach meets all of the above requirements for an inclusive beach. And even more: in addition to ramps with ramps to the beach, you can go down by an elevator; three ramps with railings lead from the platform with sun loungers and awnings into the water. The beach has its own first-aid post, toilet and shower, a changing room combined with a childcare room.
For people with visual impairments, a special tactile tile has been laid. A lifeguard works at the tower, he also helps to go down into the water in an amphibious wheelchair, in which you can not only get to the water, but also take water procedures.
And also – a special electric car that will drive people with limited mobility from the parking lot to the beach. If a person in a wheelchair wants to use the autocar service, he needs to call (050) 344-41-11, and they will come for him.
The beach is free and is designed for people with disabilities of the musculoskeletal system, with impaired vision, speech and hearing, with mental retardation, as well as for liquidators of the Chernobyl accident and other privileged categories. At the same time, everyone can come here, sitting on their own bed on the sand and not occupying the sun loungers, which are installed here for people with disabilities.
In fact, in Odessa, this is not the first beach for people in wheelchairs. At the 11th station of the Bolshoi Fontana in the early 90s, a very decent beach for people with disabilities was built at that time, which is still functioning and supported by municipal services.
There is no lift on it: only a concrete ramp along which you can go to the beach. A metal ramp leads into the water. There is also a first-aid post and a toilet (although outwardly you cannot say that it is inclusive – it was not inside). In general, the infrastructure is there, but slightly dilapidated.
Inclusive beaches on the sea coast: Chornomorsk, Arabatka, Kirillovka
In Chernomorsk, Odessa region, one of the first to appear was a beach with a “Blue Flag”. Although, until 2020, it did not quite correspond to this international term, since the inclusive site was not fully completed (due to the COVID pandemic, there were transfers and delays in work).
In August 2020, the work was completed, a convenient descent for wheelchairs, a parking lot, a descent into the water with two-level handrails, an inclusive toilet and a changing room, a platform with a fence and amphibious carts for immersion in the water appeared on the beach. It is located between the parking lot of the KP “GUZHKH” and the tennis courts of the Elite Tennis Club.
Primorsk of the Zaporozhye region also has its own inclusive beach, thanks to which people with limited mobility can now get to the sea. There is an amphibious cart on the beach, on which lifeguards help to get to the water. To do this, they need to call the following phone numbers: (066) 390-87-61 or (061) 377-05-01.
In the popular resort of Kirillovka, in August 2020, they began arranging the beach for people who move in wheelchairs. It is located on the Fedotova Spit near the village of Stepok. A ramp with a handrail was installed for entering the water in a wheelchair. In 2021, they planned to complete the work – to make a path leading along the beach to the ramp. The beach has awnings and sun loungers, showers.
It is not yet known whether the work on its arrangement has ended. You can get to the village only by car.
Arabatskaya Strelka is developing the recreation infrastructure – last year there appeared beaches marked with the “Blue Flag”. This is the central beach and the beach of the Chaika-1 recreation center in the village of Schastlivtsevo. The beaches are equipped with driveways, toilets and sheds, and most importantly – a floating wheelchair for launching into the water.
Where else but the sea: inclusive recreation on rivers and lakes
You can try to go on vacation to the Shatsk Lakes. The owner of the hotel in Shatsk, Svetlana, said that over the past two years, the embankment has been reconstructed, which stretches from Shatsk to the village of Svityaz.
From it, trips to the beaches for people in wheelchairs and cyclists are organized. These, of course, are not inclusive beaches, but fully accessible for people with limited mobility.
Residents of Kiev can use the ramp and amphibious cart on the beach in Hydropark. Here, back in 2016, the beach was reconstructed for people with disabilities.
Why opening inclusive beaches is so important
Anyone should feel free, including people with disabilities. Freedom of movement and recreation, the ability to move independently without barriers – this is the simple goal of creating such an infrastructure, which has long been on the beaches of Turkey, Egypt and Europe. But so far we are only catching up with the civilized world.
In fact, the beaches are just the tip of the iceberg. For people in wheelchairs to have a good rest, it is necessary to find affordable housing, shops not only with ramps, but also without turnstiles, transport – buses and trains, which can be easily accessed from a bus stop or platform.
Why is this and many other things still not there? Because the creation of infrastructure is most often done by people who have not encountered similar problems. And such “little things” as the sides in bathrooms and toilets, the angle of the ramp, the height of the handrails, they simply do not notice, and therefore do not take into account when designing.
City officials are involved in creating inclusive infrastructure, but they need to team up with volunteer organizations and people who know firsthand what people with disabilities need.
