The Municipality of Platanias is one of the major tourist municipalities of Greece, with numerous Greek and foreign visitors, with a large number of hotel units and organised beaches, many of which have Blue Flag certification. The Municipality has announced that during this year’s sea-bathing period, four of its beaches are fully accessible to people with problems of mobility. The accessibility infrastructure has been funded under the Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation programme of ESPA 2014-2020.
The four beaches with access for the disabled are at the following points on the Platanias shoreline: Platanias – Minoa Palace; Pyrgos Psilonerou – Asterion; Maleme – Tavernas; Kolymbari – War Memorial. Each of these bathing beaches has:
– reserved parking for the disabled,
– changing cubicles, showers and shaded areas,
– wheelchair-accessible WC facilities nearby,
– provision of autonomous entry into the sea for those with mobility problems,
– connecting ramps for wheelchair access to the above sites, where required.
There is also a dedicated WC and parking, and a wheelchair ramp down to the beach.
To facilitate access to the sea for those with mobility problems, SeaAccess® autonomous entry systems were first installed on a trial basis in 2021. These are remote controlled, with folding tracks, which can operate using only solar energy and without the need for any permanent impact on the environment.
For the greater safety of users, the SeaAccess® system can only be used on days when the sea conditions permit, i.e. when the adjacent lifeguards’ tower is showing the green flag, and at times when the lifeguard is present, i.e. from 10.00 to 18:00. Those interested in using the SeaAccess® system can obtain the remote control unit for operating it from the lifeguard on duty.
SeaAccess® – the company
SeaAccess® was designed by a team at AkriMan, a Greek company that says it has been active for over 50 years in providing lifting and transport systems for people. The company has great experience and know-how in the field of elevators, moving walkways and accessibility mechanisms.
There are currently nearly 100 SeaAccess® installations in Greece, including 11 in Crete. An interactive map showing the location of all sites where the system is in use can be seen at the company’s website: https://sea-access.gr/map/?lang=en.
(Haniotika Nea, 01-07-23; www.platanias.gr)