Genoa, after the bridge, the architectural barriers. Appeal to the mayor and complaint to the AMT
Guarantee on disability aids, the Antitrust affirms the right to immediate assistance
27 July 2020
Covid-19, non-mandatory masks for the disabled
3 August 2020
Genoa has turned the page on 3.8.20. The architect Renzo Piano donated to the city the project for the sailing bridge, which the mayor and extraordinary commissioner Marco Bucci inaugurated in less than 24 months after the tragic collapse. A new beginning to be celebrated with sobriety, respecting 43 innocent victims and their families, as well as those displaced from their homes and workplaces. But there is more to be done.
First of all, work must be done on the removal of architectural barriers, to make the Superba accessible also to people with disabilities and the elderly.
Our renewed request to the mayor and engineer Marco Bucci. And the complaint to the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Genoa - against the legal representative and the managers of AMT (Azienda Mobilità e Trasporti) SpA - for the systematic inaccessibility of buses to the disabled.
PEBA, Architectural Barrier Abatement Plans
The law 28.2.86 n. 41 introduced:
- the prohibition to approve 'construction or renovation projects of public works that do not comply with the provisions of the decree of the President of the Republic 27.4.78, n. 384, concerning the overcoming of architectural barriers',
- the prohibition on granting contributions or facilities by the State and other public bodies for the implementation of projects in contrast with the provisions of Presidential Decree 384/78,
- the duty of the competent administrations to adopt, 'for existing public buildings not yet adequate to the requirements of the decree'above, i'plans for the elimination of architectural barriers', so-called PEBA. By 1.3.87 (!),
- the duty of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, after the deadline of 29.6.85 has passed in vain, to appoint 'a commissioner for the adoption of plans for the elimination of architectural barriers at each municipal administration'. (article 32, paragraphs 20-22).
Law 104/92, the duties of local authorities
Law 5.2.92, n. 104 (framework law for assistance, social integration and the rights of handicapped persons) in turn offers a reminder on the duties of local authorities regarding architectural barriers:
- sporting, tourist and recreational activities. Removing accessibility barriers isusability of sports facilities and related services by handicapped people'(Article 23.2),
- bathing facilities. State-owned concessions and their renewals are subordinate 'the effective possibility of access to the sea for handicapped people'(Article 23.3). Condition never verified in the Municipality of Genoa, except for a couple of micro-innovations that confirm the ubiquitous violation of a law in force for 28 years,
- elimination or overcoming of barriers. ‘All construction works concerning public and private buildings open to the public are carried out in accordance with the provisions of which ' to law 118/71, to DPR 384/78, to law 13/89, to Ministerial Decree 236/89 and subsequent amendments. 'The release of the building permit or permit for the works' above 'is subject to the verification of the conformity of the project carried out by the technical office or by the technician appointed by the municipality. The mayor, in issuing the certificate of viability and habitability for the works (...), must ascertain that the works have been carried out in compliance with the provisions in force regarding the elimination of architectural barriers'. In the case of public works, '' the assessment of compliance with current legislation on the elimination of architectural barriers is the responsibility of the competent Administration, which acknowledges it when approving the project'(Article 24),
- unusability. ‘All the works carried out in public and private buildings open to the public (...) in which the differences are such as to make it impossible for the handicapped to use the work, are declared uninhabitable and uninhabitable. The designer, the construction manager, the technical manager of the checks for usability or habitability and the tester, each for their own competence, are directly responsible. They are punished with a fine of between 10 million and 50 million lire and suspension from their respective professional registers for a period of between one and six months.'(Article 24.6). For example, the underpass renovated in recent months in Piazza Corvetto in central Genoa must therefore be declared uninhabitable. And designers, construction managers, technical managers and testers of the numerous renovated shops and public establishments must be tried - even for crimes of forgery - regardless of accessibility,
- urban spaces and paths. 'The PEBAs are amended with additions relating to the accessibility of urban spaces, with particular reference to the identification and creation of accessible routes, the installation of acoustic traffic lights for the blind, the removal of signs installed in order to hinder the movement of people. handicapped'(Article 24.9),
- building regulations. The municipalities should have adapted their building regulations to the rules for the elimination of architectural barriers by 19.7.92 (art.24.11),
- mobility and collective transport. ‘The regions regulate the ways in which the municipalities arrange interventions to allow handicapped people the opportunity to move freely on the territory, taking advantage, under the same conditions as other citizens, specially adapted collective transport services or alternative services'(art. 26). Therefore, among others, almost all interurban public transport services provided by ATP ESERCIZIO Srl (a company subject to management and coordination by AMT SpA) are outlawed.
Appeal to the mayor of Genoa
On the eve of the inauguration of the San Giorgio bridge the writer had the chance to meet the mayor of Genoa in the center. Taking the opportunity to congratulate him on the brilliant works carried out in recent years and invite him to the necessary transformation of a splendid city. But completely inaccessible to people with disabilities (5,2% of the Italian population. ISTAT report 3.12.19).
Seniors in turn they enroll, to a varying and increasing extent, among people with progressive disabilities. Liguria is the second region in Europe for the prevalence of over-65 (28,5% of the population, compared to an EU average of 20,3%. Eurostat 2009). And the persistence of architectural barriers is for them the primary cause of accidents and hospitalizations.
We renew this appeal to the mayor Marco Bucci, already addressed with PEC 9.1.19 retransmitted on 30.9.20. The reconstruction of the bridge left no room for anything else, it is evident and we thank him for the extraordinary work. Now, however, with equal speed, the PEBA. Égalité and the Disability Pride Network are available for any useful contribution.
Genoa, inaccessible buses, complaint-lawsuit
the 3.8.20 the undersigned has filed a complaint - on his own and in his capacity as legal representative of Égalité Onlus - against the legal representatives and managers of AMT SpA Concessionary company of the urban public transport service in the city of Genoa.
Access to public transport by bus - by the many people with various forms of motor and / or neurological disabilities - postulates that the vehicle is equipped with a platform, capable of allowing boarding and alighting with a wheelchair or other walking aids .
AMT and discrimination of the disabled. The facts
Most of it of AMT buses are equipped with power-assisted platforms that do not work regularly. In this way, it has undergone direct experience of countless interruptions of the public service, offering the Public Prosecutor's Office an exact registration of 36 failures in a few months of attempts to use it, in the years 2018-2019-2020.
Total carelessness the repeated reports of the aforementioned failures - by a company that moreover boasts an ISO 9001 certification - is emblematic of the conscious acceptance, by the top management, of the systematic interruption of the public service.
People with disabilities they are thus forced to unacceptable inconveniences, such as endless stops, in the heat or in the cold or under water according to the seasons. In addition to unpredictable delays. And even worse, this situation also forces carers and relatives to share the stigma of discrimination.
Rights denied
The law 5.2.92 no. 104 (framework law for assistance, social integration and the rights of handicapped persons) provides, in Article 26 (Mobility and collective transport), that 'the regions regulate the ways in which the municipalities arrange interventions to allow handicapped people the opportunity to move freely on the territory, taking advantage, under the same conditions as other citizens, specially adapted collective transport services or alternative services. '
The by the President of the Council of Ministers 27.1.94 (Principles on the provision of public services, in GU 22.2.94, n. 43) in turn establishes that 'public service delivery must be inspired to the principle of equal rights of users. The rules concerning relations between users and public services and access to public services must be the same for everyone. (…) In particular, the service providers are required to take the necessary initiatives for adapt the methods of providing the service to the needs of disabled users'. (Chapter I, General Principles, Article 1, Equality). '' The provision of public services, within the framework of the procedures established by the regulatory legislation of the sector, must be continuous, regular and without interruptions. ' (Article 3, Continuity).
The UN Convention ignored
The law 3.3.09 n. 18 ratified and implemented the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD) adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13.12.06. This Convention in turn reaffirms, in article 20, the principle of equal opportunities in the use of the public transport service.
It awaits now a diligent and effective investigative activity by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Genoa. Which will be able to acquire the logs of the reports of breakdowns and other documentary evidence, listen to the people informed on the facts and challenge the crimes of interruption of public service and continued private violence to the top management of AMT.
Where civilization does not arrive, it is the time of justice.
Dario Dongo
Cover photo by Carlo Previati
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
