Ostend installs first ‘telephone plane’ to make businesses more accessible

The city is working on this project with Dito, the association of and for people with a disability or chronic illness. Traders can purchase a ring road with the support of the city to make their business more accessible.

Customized solution

The traders could sign up for this initiative. “Experience experts then go on site and measure how high the threshold is. They also look at the slope and offer a tailor-made solution to the traders,” says An Blauwblomme of Dito West-Vlaanderen.

Ostend has about 1,400 shops. Thirteen of these are now much more accessible, including a pharmacy, souvenir shop, hairdresser and catering establishment. The traders only pay 100 euros, the rest is for the city and Dito.

Necessary

Elsie Bruynoghe of hotel Le Bassin thinks it is necessary that the place is accessible, despite the threshold for less mobile people. “We will use that on the side of the hotel and on the side of the brasserie, because we also have a threshold there. There are people who can still get out of their wheelchairs. If necessary, we also walked outside to help them, but this is a serious improvement.”

Wheelchair user Jenny thinks it’s a great initiative, but more driving surfaces could be added for her. “I think there are still far too few. Of course it also depends on how things are located. Sometimes they can’t adapt the basement, but where there’s a will there’s a way.”

Dito will also roll out the project in Bruges next week, where about ten businesses are involved.