Tbilisi – Two announcements were made this week on improving the accessibility of Tbilisi for persons with disabilities.
The Parliament of Georgia adopted a bill increasing the fine for illegally parking in a spot reserved for persons with disabilities from 10 GEL ($4) to 50 GEL ($18). The bill passed easily, with 91 members voting in favor of the increase, out of the 150-member Parliament – unsurprisingly, as the bill was introduced by ruling party Georgian Dream.
Georgian Dream Parliamentarian Rati Ionatamishvili, who himself uses a wheelchair, co-authored the bill, along with Natia Mikeladze, the Secretary of the Government of Georgia to the Parliament. The new, more severe penalty applies only in Tbilisi and Batumi. Ionatamishvili and his coalition argued that the 10 GEL fine was not a sufficient deterrent to prevent people from illegally parking in spots marked for people with disabilities, thus decreasing their accessibility in urban areas.
With support from the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, City Hall will install elevators at three underground walkways in the city. The selected walkways are some of the most frequently used, by both locals and tourists, and are all located in the city center: Melikishvili Street, near the Tbilisi Concert Hall, crossing Rustaveli Avenue, and on Liberty (Freedom) Square. The goal of installing the elevators is to improve accessibility for people with physical disabilities, and to increase their mobility. The budget for the project is $100,000.
Read more at Georgia Today
