What to do in Ventspils for guests with special needs?
When you visit Ventspils, there are relatively extensive opportunities for people with special requirements to have a good day with access to the environment.
Pavement kerbs
More than 200 pavement kerbs have been lowered in Ventspils over the past 5 years.
The South pier, the Anchor Trail of Jurmala Park, and Renķa Garden are well-suited for walks, recreation and informational purposes. A suitable urban environment provides an opportunity to easily walk in the city and view the most popular tourist sites, such as the concert hall “Latvia”, the fountain “Frigate Whale”, the Buoy exposition at the Port Street promenade, the Livonian Order castle, the Seaside Open-Air Museum, the House of Creative Work, and the planetarium.
Ventspils beach | Changing rooms near the sea
Special changing rooms were installed on the beach for visitors with special needs, which can be accessed by wooden walkways in the dune area; wooden walkway was made for easy wheelchair access to the sea from the sixth entrance, while two bathing places were installed, which have a beach rescue service; two pylons were installed to mark the borders. There are four tactile maps on stands at the entrance to the beach. They are maps with relief embedded in the base, which makes it easier for people with visual disorders to read information on the map by touching it.(Address: Entrance No. 3; No. 6 – Ventspils beach)
Children’s park | Children’s swing
There are special swings for children in wheelchairs in the children’s park; for more comfortable walks in parks there are gravel pathways that are easy to move in with a pushchair or wheelchair, and the many benches in the city area are a good place for elderly people to take a rest. (Address: Lielais prospekts/Vasarnīcu iela, Ventspils)
Adventure park Lemberga hūte | Mountain peak
The service will be offered free of charge to all persons with disabilities who wish to receive mobility services by previous appointment – for walks on the city beach, Deer Garden, at the foot of Lemberga hūte hill and other nature sites within the city borders. Assistant services are also offered. Prior application to Mobilcentrs by phone: 29570404 (Address: Saules iela 141, Ventspils)
Lake Bušnieku nature trail | Bathing place
Lake Būšnieki Nature Trailis available to everyone as a natural object. When you drive into the parking area outside the Lake Bušnieku boat base, it is easy to leave the car in a parking space for the disabled, and there is also a temporary mobile adapted toilet. The nature trail not only offers an 8 km route around the entire lake, but also a nearly 200-metre-long walkway with a viewing platform for bird watching. The walkway is made of wood with a comfortable ramp, while the walking path is made of gravel and chips, which was specifically compacted to make it easier to navigate. Information stands on the flora and fauna of the lake and bird species living here are installed on the site and available in Braille writing; with a QR code, smart devices can play information about the nature trail in audio format.(Address: Staldzenes iela 64, Ventspils)
Other topical information
Toilets
There are publicly available self-cleaning paid toilets in the city in various places: Renķa Garden, Port Street Promenade, Jurmala Park, Dzirnavu Square and the South Pier parking area, designed so that everyone can enter them.
Traffic lights
Urban traffic light systems fitted with an audible signal, as well as pavements marked in contrasting yellow, and tactile strips created in intersection zones; tactile strips are also created in places before changing surface levels.
Car parks
There are parking spaces for the disabled in public parking areas created for vehicles with persons with reduced mobility and additional parking areas are marked for families with small children.
Public transport
The city’s public transportation lines are served by low-deck buses tailored to everyone’s needs. PSIA “Ventspils reiss” takes care to ensure that public transport is also available to people with disabilities. Only low-deck buses ride on routes where the bus stops exclusively at its intended stops. Ventspils reiss also offers buses for intercity trips, adapted for passengers in a wheelchair. So that “Ventspils reiss” can assign a suitable bus for a Ventspils voyage, the person must apply 72 hours before the scheduled trip, if a person on a wheelchair wishes to travel.