A route in Athens guided by the president of the Panhellenic Association of the Blind Dimitris Sifakis
Missing or worn-out sidewalk and subway station wayfinding signs, dangerous platforms without markings or handrails, traffic lights without audible warning, and buses without audible stop announcements. This is the reality that blind people face in their daily commute – not in some remote village but in the center of Athens.
Documento made the journey from the offices of the Panhellenic Association of the Blind in Omonia to the Kallithea electric station together with the president of the association Dimitris Sifakis. “Stable chains of accessibility in Athens do not exist, only small oases. The rest is a… desert. Even in public transport there are big gaps” he tells us as he tries to find his way with his white cane.
“Stops and buses without audible announcement”
We take bus B9 from Chalkokondili to get off after two stops. There should be an audible announcement at the stop and in the vehicle. But the reality is different. “The sound directs us to the mass media and to the street. If you exclude two or three traffic lights in Athens with an audible announcement, all the rest are old and without an audible announcement. So are the majority of bus stops and buses. Most of the time blind people are forced to ask the driver about the stops and the route.”
Of course, the obstacles for a blind person in Athens start from the sidewalks, with the non-existent or often broken road signs. There are often no drivers on the streets of 3rd September and Patision, while at some point of the route the sheet metal of a building blocks the path of Mr. Sifakis.
“Central station without route guides”
We arrive at Omonia where chaos reigns from the escalators to the docks. “It’s the most central station and it doesn’t even have route guides on the floor. How can I navigate a station with five entrances with a cane?’ he wonders and points out that many times there are people sitting on the platform on the steps leading down (especially during rush hours) and there is a risk of a blind person falling down the stairs. The station master’s comments are not enough. As much as STASY emphasizes that it does everything it can to facilitate the accessibility of electricity for the blind, the reality solemnly denies it.
The Monastiraki and Kallithea stations have corresponding gaps and poor workmanship that make it difficult for the blind to access. “Inadequate infrastructure shuts blind people in their homes. How do you get out if you can’t move in the center of your city?’ concludes Mr. Sifakis.
01Directions… to nowhere
There are many damaged way guides on downtown sidewalks, forcing a blind person to move either on the edge or on the inside, often falling into obstacles. “Recently we met with the new mayor Haris Doukas in a very good atmosphere and he listened carefully to us about the interventions that need to be made. Mr. Bakoyannis and I used to take pictures…” emphasizes the president of the association of the blind. An unfinished project is the route guides at Monastiraki station. These are yellow plastic markings that have come off and lead not to the platforms and escalators, but in a circle around the lifts, which are often out of order! Heading towards line 3 we encounter routing guides that are just plain… crap. “This is not material, but preliminary work. Did someone actually get paid to make this thing?’ D. Sifakis wonders.
02Construction obstacles
On our way to Omonia we came across a building on 3rd September Street. Sheet metal covers even the rudimentary route guide. “There’s no protocol so we don’t have barriers or any signage to follow. We have experienced it strongly with the holes that are constantly opening in the center in recent years”, points out D. Sifakis.
03 Flat scales-carmanioles
Inappropriate platform stairs without handrails exist at one exit of Kallithea station, important for blind people because of the Home for the Blind and the rehabilitation center located there. “The station is problematic for us because of the flat stairs of one exit. Routing guides lead to these, which are angled and have no handrails. A blind man can easily fall,” points out D. Sifakis.
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