On International White Cane Day: Blind People in Varna Call for More Accessible Urban Environment

On International White Cane Day, we turn our attention to people with visual impairments. We travel to Varna, where the urban environment remains inaccessible to them in many places.

For Galina, every trip out onto the street carries risks, particularly when she is in an unfamiliar area. She chooses shoes with thin soles so that she can feel the texture of the ground beneath her feet, at least to some extent. Galina says Varna Municipality is working to improve the urban environment, but the measures taken so far are not enough to ensure the safety of people with visual impairments.

Galina Rakityanska: “They are doing some good things, but they are not finishing them properly. The many potholes at bus stops are also very dangerous. I’m at the bus stop, I take a step, my foot goes halfway into a hole, and I don’t know what to do while the bus is pulling away.”

Paradoxically, tactile paving designed to help blind people navigate can sometimes become an obstacle in itself.

Galina Rakityanska: “There are grooves. Luckily, my grandson was there to tell me what they were for. Nobody explains these things to you. In some places, it is easier to follow them, so I switch to another line, but that is not a solution in most cases either. Instead of helping me, the yellow line stops me. Someone with some residual vision can make their way to the bus stop or the traffic lights, depending on where they are going. But someone who cannot see will not be able to see this either.”

Galina admits that poor infrastructure means she rarely goes out in the city. When she needs to reach a healthcare facility or a public institution, getting there becomes a challenge. One such location in Varna is the area outside the National Health Insurance Fund’s regional office.

Galina Rakityanska: “Between the bus stop and the Health Insurance Fund office, there are missing paving slabs, and one section has been torn up. If my daughter had not been with me, I would have had to keep moving from one side to the other to avoid the hazards. I end up restricting myself. When I need to go somewhere, I try to go with someone, but sometimes I go alone too… I simply cannot keep asking people to accompany me.”

For people with visual impairments, an accessible urban environment is essential. Tactile paving must also be installed accurately so that it helps them navigate independently rather than leaving them confined to their homes.