24-Year-Old Wheelchair User Leaves Amsterdam Due to Lack of Accessibility

He came to live in Amsterdam in 2016 for his studies, and he is almost finished with his last study. Tim lives in East and likes to go to places around the Spui, such as the pool bar. “I come here a lot with friends, and then we drink beer on the terrace.”

And on the terrace, that is unfortunately all for Tim, because he cannot enter the pub with his wheelchair: “In sunny weather like now that is completely fine, but in winter it is very cold and that restricts me and therefore my friends unfortunately.” The same goes for shops, “and then when I come in somewhere, there is the next problem: a disabled toilet that is missing.”

According to De Zonnebloem, the accessibility of the city has been a problem for a long time. The association is committed to people with a physical disability. “Research shows that almost eighty percent of people affiliated with the Sunflower leave outings because it is not accessible,” says spokesman Alexander van Zijp.

Awareness

To make people without disabilities more aware of the difficulties you encounter when you are in a wheelchair, De Zonnebloem is starting a new campaign this week. In this campaign they want to make clear how people with disabilities are actually limited. Tim: “Sometimes the only threshold is really the threshold.”

The campaign displays a sign that reads a ‘no wheelchair access’. Van Zijp mentions a number of examples: “The bridge at Max Euweplein to Vondelpark, for example, is much too steep for wheelchairs. Or anyone who places their shared scooter anywhere, so that wheelchairs can no longer pass on the sidewalk.”

Tim knows all too well that he made a risky choice with his move to Amsterdam seven years ago. “I always say this, don’t be surprised if they speak French in France.” By this he means: in an old and historic city like Amsterdam, it is not surprising that parts of the (inner) city are inaccessible to anyone. “But”, he says, “if very small adjustments are needed to do that, then I find it very strange if that doesn’t happen.”

The solution is very easy, Tim thinks: “Just a driving board like that everywhere, that would be great.” He therefore believes that the municipality has some responsibility when it comes to accessibility. The municipality itself, says a spokesperson for alderman for care Alexander Scholtes, is responsible for the public space. “But as soon as it comes to shops and cafes, for example, then it is up to the entrepreneurs themselves. Just as we cannot require driving boards indoors.”

Require a driving board

Tim wants to emphasize that the owners of his favorite pub are certainly not the culprits. “They help me by being flexible in terrace times, for example.” “And we sometimes lift him to the toilet,” they say themselves. “But it’s just a shitty situation that you can’t actually go in,” says Tim. “It is a top city, but a little more accessible and I will only stay.”

Nationally, there is the law ‘equal treatment of disability or chronic illness’. This law means that no direct or indirect distinction may be made between people with and without disabilities. “If someone really experiences discrimination, they can report it to the government,” says the spokesperson. The municipality itself is actively encouraging entrepreneurs to maximize accessibility, for example by providing subsidies. “We hope that if people start a conversation, the entrepreneurs will be open to that conversation and do something about it themselves.”