"Memorial" of Ryazan has summed up examinations that assessed the availability of refurbished streets and buildings for citizens with limited mobility. It showed that only two streets have become more affordable after repair, while new barriers appeared on the repaired areas in some cases.
The examination was conducted at the request of members of the "Safe Route" project, which is implemented by the Ryazan "Memorial". In total there were 9 examinations in August, which were attended by representatives of the prosecutor's of the Oktyabrsky and Sovetsky districts. According to the results of inspections on repaired areas, specialists of "Memorial" stated that although the situation has improved on two routes, in some cases streets became less accessible to citizens with limited mobility after repair than before it.
The most notable improvements have occurred in Tsiolkovsky street, the route of Tatiana Sharova, raising a son with disability. Despite the fact that at the time of the examination the repair of coverage has not yet been completed, the Commission noted that the lowering of borders, the height of which was the main barrier, is made throughout the repaired area.
On Kol'tsova street, where "Memorial" of Ryazan also recorded numerous violations in April 2014, off-ramps were made at the intersection of the pavement with the roadway. However, lawyers clarified that construction standards don’t forecast these off-ramps as asphalt "mounds", as the law requires lowering a sidewalk and curb. Nevertheless, even these non-normative conventions in conjunction with new paving coating make the street more "passable" for citizens with limited mobility.
At the request of one of the participants of the project Galina Veis the examination was conducted on Krasnoryadskaya street, which was renovated in June this year. During the check specialists of the Ryazan "Memorial" found out that a curb was set all over the repaired area height from 15 to 20 centimeters, which is much higher than the standard 4 cm. Also stormwater drainage of the sidewalk were installed, most of which were left opened, which is a serious barrier for people on a wheelchair.
The examination established that building regulations during repair on Sel’skih stroitelei street in Nedostoevo have been also violated: 15-cm curbs were installed all over the repaired area. As a result, the street was completely unsuitable for movement of a wheelchair disabled Alexei Bolyaev, who is now forced to go around the inaccessible sidewalk by road.
The requirements of legislation were also ignored during the commissioning of a kindergarten on Kalnaya street. At the time of initial examination in April the building and entrances to it were under repair. Then the Commission noted that the borders were established, which were more than 20 centimeters higher than the norm. On this fact the city administration had been approached with a demand to eliminate the violation before the commissioning of the kindergarten. However, on the basis of re-examination in August, the specialists of "Memorial" found that non-normative borders have remained at the same place.
The examination established that a pedestrian bridge near the mall "Premier", which was put into operation in June 2014, is also still not equipped with means of access for people with limited mobility, which is a serious violation of the law.
"Although there are some improvements, it is noticeable that compliance with building codes is poorly controlled by contractors. The result is that even on the streets, which prosecutors of the areas made the submission of and appealed to the courts (like Sel’skih stroitelei street), standards have been ignored during the repair. With this approach Ryazan will be available for citizens with limited mobility still awhile away from now. Nevertheless, we will ensure that new barriers have been removed," lawyer of the Ryazan "Memorial" Pyotr Ivanov said.
In response to all the violations recorded in the re-examination, the lawyers of "Memorial" made appeals to the administration of the city and the district prosecutor's office for the participants of the project "Safe Route".
