Back in August this year, we shared our thoughts on how accessible Split really is and what the city is doing to help the situation. Today, positives moves might just be underway.
As I wrote to you back in August, I never thought much about how accessible Split was until a friend of mine visited me in a wheelchair. That changed everything.
From finding a hotel with a lift (there were only a few) to thinking about which beaches were suitable or which taxis would drive us (thank goodness for Uber vans), my mind was in overdrive. One thing I was able to see clearly, though: Just how (non) accessible Split really is as a city. It’s safe to say Diocletian wasn’t thinking about wheelchair access when he built his palace 1700 years ago.
But because city officials have the power to change this (and though it has been a slow-moving process, indeed), today we bring you some somewhat uplifting news to make the lives of people with disabilities a bit easier around Split.
To make access easier to frequent locations within Diocletian’s Palace, the City of Split has received a non-refundable 270,000 EUR through the EU project ‘Usefall’, reports HRTurizam on December 14, 2017.
This money is foreseen to place a lift at the Golden Gate, a platform or elevator at the eastern entrance to the historic core of the Silver Gate, and a lift and ramps at the western entrance to the historic center, within two passages from the Square of the Republic to the adjacent streets. There will also be a map of information on the availability of cultural facilities for persons with disabilities, and workshops for tourist guides, representatives of associations, and cultural institutions will be organized to inform them about the project in its entirety. The project will last 18 months and will be implemented with partners from Italy and Croatia, the Municipality of Ravenna, the Fondazione Aquileia, the Venetian Heritage Cluster and the City of Poreč.
It is important to note that this project is a continuation of the EU project “EX.PO.AUS” implemented under the IPA Adriatic cross-border cooperation program. The program aims to increase the prosperity of the coastal area and to develop the potential of “blue growth” through the stimulation of building partnerships between cross- organizations and entities bordering the Adriatic coast, activating a series of initiatives that can boost the economy and the environment of the Adriatic Basin.
Excerpts taken from HRTurizam
