Sidewalk encroachments pose a danger to visually impaired individuals

Drawing attention to the fact that sidewalk encroachments in Aydın make life difficult and pose risks for pedestrians and disabled individuals, Bayram Özen, the President of Altınokta Körler Derneği Aydın Branch, called on shopkeepers, stating, ‘We invite our shopkeepers to be sensitive and put an end to sidewalk encroachments.’ With a population rate of 3.4% in Aydın, the lives of approximately 39,000 disabled individuals become even more challenging due to the carelessness of indifferent citizens. Addressing the difficulties and problems experienced by visually impaired individuals, Bayram Özen, the President of Altınokta Körler Derneği Aydın Branch, made a statement regarding the obstacles faced by visually impaired individuals living in Aydın and emphasized the issue of sidewalk encroachments, making a call to shopkeepers. Özen, emphasizing that sidewalk encroachment makes life difficult for pedestrians and disabled individuals, made a call for awareness, stating, ‘As Altı Nokta Körler Derneği Aydın Branch, we want to share our deep concerns with the public regarding the increasing sidewalk encroachments in our city center. Especially, sidewalk encroachments carried out by our shopkeepers pose serious problems for pedestrian safety and urban aesthetics. Sidewalks are important areas built to ensure safe and uninterrupted pedestrian traffic in urban life. However, the occupation of sidewalks by our shopkeepers to expand their commercial activities leads to narrowing pedestrian paths and forcing pedestrians to walk on the road. This situation poses a great danger, especially for the elderly, children, and disabled individuals. Sidewalk encroachments endanger pedestrian safety and lead to accidents. Every individual has the right to walk safely. Sidewalk encroachments prevent disabled individuals and families using strollers from moving comfortably. This constitutes a serious violation of accessibility rights. Furthermore, a well-organized and clean city view is an important factor that increases the satisfaction of city residents and visitors. Sidewalk encroachments have a negative impact on urban aesthetics. As an association, we want to emphasize the issues of security, accessibility, and urban aesthetics. In this context, we invite our shopkeepers to be sensitive and put an end to sidewalk encroachments. We request the competent authorities to carry out necessary inspections and regulations in this regard. We will continue to work in collaboration with all stakeholders to make Aydın a more livable and safe city.’