The city center of Coevorden must become much more accessible for the disabled in the coming years. This is stated by the Coevorden Disability Policy Platform Foundation. According to the foundation, there are still too many stumbling blocks for people with disabilities and they see the lack of sufficient toilet facilities as a major loss.
The platform has now requested a meeting about this with the municipality of Coevorden. “We hope to sit down together soon, because something has to be done.” This is what chairman Helga Abbing of the platform says. Her organization says it has been working for years to promote the interests of people with disabilities.
“We have toured the city center several times with councilors and municipal officials and pointed out bottlenecks. And we have also given advice several times.”
Sometimes something happens with that, says Abbing. “But in general we see that accessibility for the disabled is still below par.” With the requested conversation, the platform says it wants to ‘put more pressure on it’.
Since 2016, there has been a UN treaty on the basis of which the government is obliged to ensure that people with disabilities can participate fully in society. “We would of course like to refer to that.”
According to Abbing, concrete problems in the city can mainly be found in the Friesestraat, the shopping street of Coevorden. “Here we see that the tile strips used by blind and partially sighted people are interrupted. A difficult point is also the intersection at Schoolstraat, where motorists turn right.”
More generally, she believes there are problems because cyclists or people on scooters slalom through shoppers and shopkeepers sometimes place their advertising signs too far on the road. “Situations like that make it very difficult for people who have difficulty walking or are visually impaired.”
Another problem that the Disability Policy Platform has is the limited toilet facilities. “We have been advocating for good public toilet facilities for years, which are also widely available. Now there is only an option at the town hall and De Heeren van Coevorden, but for that location you are dependent on opening hours.”
She thinks that this makes it difficult for people in a wheelchair or with another disability to go out for dinner in the city in the evening. “You then have to rely on a toilet in the catering business and these are not always easily accessible.” According to the platform, good public toilet facilities will be increasingly necessary in the coming years due to the aging population.
During previous ‘threshold checks’ among entrepreneurs, there have been retailers who were willing to make minor adjustments to their store to improve accessibility. “Sometimes these are simple measures, which we are very happy with. More generally, we have noticed that the national chains in particular are less willing to work on our points of interest.”
The platform would like to discuss a more accessible city center with the municipality soon. “We would like to become more of a point of contact on these matters. We also want to be closely involved in future developments in the city, so that we can provide our advice in the field of accessibility.” Regarding the latter, she refers, among other things, to the redevelopment of the market and port area of the city.
It is not yet known when the platform will enter into discussions with the municipality of Coevorden. “But that conversation will certainly happen,” says spokesperson Gert de Groot. “We have had regular contact with the platform in the past. We also understand the importance of good accessibility.”