Challenge highlights access issues facing disabled
ACCESSING the streets of Cape Town is no joke when you are in a wheelchair.
Many bus drivers – even on the disabledfriendly MyCiTi service – pretend they don’t see you and whiz past, while the key for the disabled access at Muizenberg Station has been missing for the past four years.
Combined with a lack of dropped kerbs and ramps, uneven paving and cars parked on pavements or in disabled bays, people complain it feels more like an obstacle course.
Yesterday, a wheelchair challenge was organised by non-profit organisation Believe in Schatzi, which works on the self-sustainability of those with special needs.
The group, in wheelchairs, some using assisted walkers, took to the streets starting from the Box Road Retirement Home in Marine Estate and walked to the Shark Spotter’s office at Muizenberg Beach. From there, they headed up to the station and the shops in Palmer Road.
It didn’t take long before one of the participant’s wheels got stuck trying to negotiate a high kerb with no ramp access. And Ashtan Davids, 18, who heads the organisation and is confined to a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy, was negotiating a rubbish bin on the pavement when a low-hanging palm tree struck him in the face.
His mother, Shireen Sachse, had to watch out for speeding cars while trying to push the wheelchair up a steep kerb. There are also open drains and manholes missing covers – all with the potential to create hazards.
Kevin Rack, who assists the organisation, said the purpose was to highlight accessibility issues faced by residents, then to liaise with relevant stakeholders to rectify the problems. “Access is a human right and we want to start here and roll out the plan into townships, where there are even bigger challenges.”
Rack said the organisation wanted a route marked in yellow that would allow people safe access to public transport, the shops, library and beach.
“We know we can’t change everything because it would be too expensive, so we’d like one route where people know they can navigate the streets safely.” He said there were countless contraventions of the building code. “People’s movements should not be restricted like this.”
Elsie Gerber, from the retirement home, took part using a walker, assisted by her son, Michael van der Merwe. Gerber likes to wander down to the library and says she would prefer a more accessible route.
The beachfront has been redeveloped and has a number of upmarket restaurants, but only one – Tiger’s Milk – has access for the disabled in the form of a lift. The others have stairs.
Sachse said facilities for the disabled at the beachfront needed an overhaul.
Rack said they hoped for a positive outcome from authorities, but were prepared to go the legal route with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.