Chisinau is virtually inaccessible to people with reduced mobility, study

People with reduced mobility are confined to their homes because everything from the stairs to apartment buildings to the entrances to public buildings, intersections or public buses are not accommodated to the needs of people in wheelchairs, a survey by Bloguvern found. Sociologist Artiom Maister, a member of the survey team, told a news conference on Thursday that the survey in particular studied the most crowed section of Chisinau's center, bounded by the streets Alexandru cel Bun, Alexei Mateevici, Mihai Viteazul and Ismail. It was found that of the total 121 intersections within this area only 2 had all the ramps in place and which could actually be used. In other places they were either nonexistent or blocked by various obstacles or were otherwise unusable. This means that Chisinau is virtually inaccessible to persons with reduced mobility, concluded the sociologist. Elena Ratoi, communications coordinator at the disability rights NGO Motivatie, said that of the 55 public buildings of social importance in Chisinau, only two had adequate accommodations for people with disabilities. Other buildings have inaccessible handrails, narrow doorways or cramped lifts. Elena Ratoi noted that Moldova doesn't have an effective mechanism for sanctioning people in positions of authority for violating disability rights, and the existing fines – of just 2,400 lei – are too small. Oxana Piscianskaia, a Motivatie member who uses a wheelchair, revealed that she can only go out if there is a person to accompany her, as stairs, streets and public buildings in Chisinau all become insurmountable challenges if unassisted. Bloguvern project coordinator Anastasia Primov remarked that the results of the survey are “very sad”. “Direct observation has shown that, while good laws are in place, there is a huge gap in what concerns the implementation of public policies”. Bloguvern, a public policy analysis project, suggests that the authorities should develop a plan to adapt streets and public buildings to the needs of people in wheelchairs and condition authorizations for new roads and buildings on the observance of reasonable accommodation standards. According to Bloguvern, Chisinau is home to over 3,000 persons with locomotor disabilities, 30,000 mothers with children in strollers and 38,000 persons aged 70 or older.