For the Protest rally:
“Shape a barrier-free future!”
The Bismarck Square is the centre of Heidelberg.
A lot of people walk there every day.
Many buses go there.
Many trams go there.
Many cars go there.
Some people don’t like to go to Bismarck Square.
It is difficult to walk with a wheelchair on Bismarck Square.
It’s hard with a blind cane on Bismarck Square.
The city has tried. But the city does far too little.
Look at the map.
There are parking spots for disabled people on the street.
Disabled people can park their cars there.
There is a disabled parking space next to the big shop. The shop is called Galeria Kauf-Hof.
There are also taxis there.
There is a bank behind the Galeria Kauf-Hof. The bank is called Post-Bank.
There is also a parking spot next to the Post-Bank.
There is also a Car Park. A car park is a building. People can also park there.
There are public toilets. Public means: they are there for everyone.
Some people cannot walk. They use a wheelchair. They are wheelchair drivers.
There is also a toilet for wheelchair drivers.
They open the toilet with a key. An office in the city of Heidelberg has the keys.
There are toilets for the other people too. But they are very dirty and unhealthy.
Galeria Kaufhof also has toilets. People are also allowed to use the toilets. The toilets are barrier-free.
But Galeria Kauf-Hof is closing next year. Why is that? They have no more money.
After that, people won’t be able to use the toilets there.
There are stops for the tram and the bus.
Wheelchair drivers can’t get on the tram. The entrance is too high.
That is why there is a ramp. The ramp is at the platform.
And there are landings.
A landing is as high as the entrance. That’s good.
But some trams are old. They have stairs. That’s bad.
And the bus stops don’t have landings. That’s bad.
The buses have ramps. People can lower these ramps. Then wheelchair drivers can get on the bus. That is good.
The platform also has guiding lines. These are special white tiles with knobs and grooves.
Blind people walk on these guiding lines.
Guiding lines are important.
They have to be at the traffic lights.
They have to be at the walkways.
They have to be at the plattforms.
But they are not there. That is bad.
Heidelberg has few guiding lines. That is bad.
At the bus stops there is a timetable. It shows, for example: The bus comes at 3:15 pm.
But blind people don’t see that. Nobody says it out loud. That is bad.
There are benches. People can sit there.
The benches are at the bus stops. They are also in the park.
But many benches are bad. They have bars. And they are round.
People want to lie down on the benches. They can’t.
At the rally there are beer benches. You can sit there.
There is a lot going on at Bismarck Square. It is loud. There are many people.
There is no peace and quiet.
The park is supposed to be quiet. But it is not quiet either.
It can be too much. People feel bad.
That’s why we have a tent. The tent is there for the rally.
The tent is quiet. People can go in there. It’s called a retreat.
Do you need help at the rally? Some people wear purple waistcoats.
They look out for the other people.
They help the other people.
They answer questions.
They give information.
They bring people to the rally.
They take people to the tent.
They take people to the toilet.
They take people to the parking lot.
They take people to the taxi.
They take people to the bus stop.
There are different people at the rally.
Some people are deaf. A person translates for them. This profession is called interpreter.
Some people do not speak German. They speak English. A person translates for them.
Some people speak simple English. A person translates for them.
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