Sunday, August 6, 2017

Wheelchairs, Escalators and Berets

Travelling in Aragon and the Basque Country last May, I saw many members of the older generation enjoying the outdoors from their wheelchairs.
Nothing newsworthy in itself, but what did really strike me were the facilities that were put in place for people of old age and/or disabilities.
Signage on monuments, ruins, old buildings, etc may have been in Spanish and Euskara only (and not in English), they did provide for the blind with the text in braille.
In the old cities, typically built on hills, escalators were installed, to enable people of all ages and abilities to live their life as independently as possible.  
I had to think of my own city Wellington and how unfriendly it is to disabled people with steep, narrow roads, footpaths changing from one side of the road to another, broken pavements, cars typically parked on the footpath. 
Great to see places where things are thoughtfully different!
Braille, lower left corner:

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