A park with tactile paving to the playgrounds, sports ground and recreational area with tables and chairs was set up in Telecentru quarter of Chisinau, which is inhabited by many persons with visual impairments. The deputy head of the Association of the Blind of Moldova Ștefan Oprea spoke about this urban mobility project in a news conference at IPN. He said that when public areas are laid out, particular categories of persons should not be neglected or discriminated. A universal design accessible to all the beneficiaries is necessary.
The Association of the Blind of Moldova formed part of the team that designed the park and became actively involved. Ștefan Oprea said the contractors that perform the works consider that they already know how to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities, but there are aspects or details that can be omitted, but these are very important. That’s why it is important to ask for the expertise of persons from different categories of people who will use these public places.
“The involvement of persons with visual impairments is also important as there are features that are different from those in the case of the other accessibility levels. Specific paving is needed. This can be done easily. The accessibility does not necessitate intervention in engineering networks. The paving is placed on the existing layer, but additional costs are incurred,” said the deputy head of the Association of the Blind of Moldova.
In the Republic of Moldova, there are about 15,000 persons with visual impairments.
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