BEACH IN VARNA BECOMES WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE

A month before the end of the active summer tourist season, a wooden ramp was mounted on the beach at the North Bulgarian city of Varna. This will facilitate the access of people with disabilities to the beach and the sea.

This has been the second attempt to make the beach accessible for people with disabilities. In 2015, a unique “Dragonfly” facility was placed on the beach in Asparuhovo residential area of Varna, but was later destroyed.

For more than 20 years, Dimitar Ivanov has tried to convince the institutions to build a path to the sea to provide access to wheelchairs of people with disabilities. In his opinion, wooden platforms are not a solution. He thinks that a concrete path would be much better.

Adrian Yankov also tested the wooden facility and said it had some drawbacks. He explained that it should be larger and should provide a possibility for maneuvering.

“My wheelchair is more compact, but it was a bigger one, you wouldn’t be able to turn”.

The idea to build paths to make the beach accessible for persons with special needs has been discussed with concessioners and the chief architect of Varna, but has not been implemented. The money for the current wooden ramp was provided by the district governance following a letter sent to it by a union of handicapped, “Briz”.

Obreten Mihov, a chairperson of “Briz” union says that a procurement is needed in order to implement the project. “The procedure takes time and by the time it is finalised, the summer would be over. That is why we made the beach accessible in the fastest way and cheapest way, “he said.