Embankment improvement project presented in Odesa

Svitlana Murina , head of the Odesproekt utility company, presented a project to improve the embankment from the Lanzheron traverse to the Zolotyi Bereg traverse at a meeting of the Accessibility Council.

According to the director of the municipal enterprise, it is about 15 kilometers of the embankment, and the area of improvement is planned to be 4.6 hectares or 46 thousand square meters.

The project in the current stage involves the improvement of the pedestrian zone - the promenade. The entire area from Lanzheron to Vidrada is proposed to be made on one level, i.e. without sidewalks. As Svitlana Murina explained, this should make it more convenient for people in wheelchairs to move along the embankment. It is also proposed to arrange a parapet with decorative lights, replace benches, and lay tiles in the same style near the retaining wall. Two ramps and an invitataxi parking lot are proposed for Lanzheron. In total, there are four ramps along the entire length of the site. In Arcadia, a ramp is proposed, which is designed to take into account the large elevation difference to the sea, and the next one is already in the area of the 17th station of the Big Fountain - the Zolotyi Bereg beach. It is about designing additional ramps to the existing 12 ramps and two lifts.

In addition to the ramps, space has been reserved for seven primary shelters to be added to the existing ones. Thus, there should be 16 shelters along the entire embankment. In addition, 23 garbage collection sites and three additional restrooms are planned, including an inclusive restroom near the proposed rowing station near the cable car and another one near the Santorini plaza. Many additional toilets, according to Svitlana Murina, were designed due to the lack of a sewerage project for the area for which the improvement project was developed.

VIDEO: Odesa City Council

The project provides for parking lots for taxis near the beaches: Lanzheron, Kaleton, 11th station of the Big Fountain and 17th station of the Big Fountain, where the residential complex "Spaces" is being built.

However, representatives of public organizations noted that people in wheelchairs currently do not have sufficient access to the beaches directly.  For example, the head of the Odesa Basketball Sports Club for Persons with Disabilities NGO, Oleh Prokhorov, said that the beaches and the beaches in general are not currently accessible. The existing ramps do not meet the standards. However, Svitlana Murina emphasized that the existing project concerns the embankment, and the improvement of the beaches themselves is the next stage of design.

In turn, urban architect David Pishchev noted that there is currently no concept of sea use in Odesa.

"The project that is currently proposing is only a small part of what needs to be done. The sea is our asset, but the city is cut off from it. To get to the sea, we need to go to it. When we live in the center, we don't get to the sea. It seems to be separate from us. There are five to seven convenient descents to the sea and only two that can be used by people with disabilities. With this project, , it is impossible to answer all the questions that are asked here. Because we need to do a big project to integrate the entire coast into the city. We have done such a project before. But the one we have now is only about the waterfront," the architect said.

As Nadiya Zadorozhna, deputy head of the city military administration, explained to , the project currently looks like this because on the eve of the holiday season, Odesa's embankment looks unsatisfactory and business representatives are now ready to work on, for example, bringing the pavement to a uniform look, making the tiles in the same style, and other work that can be done in two months.

Кирило Бойко

Lanzheron's embankment improvement project presented to Odesa City Council

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