Swissminiatur, in cooperation with the Cerebral Foundation, is installing special benches in Melide to enable disabled people and people with motor disorders to rest comfortably.
Everyone should be able to enjoy Switzerland in miniature on Lake Lugano. Accessibility is therefore an important concern for Swissminiatur. To make Switzerland’s largest open-air miniature museum even more accessible, Swissminiatur installs special benches that allow everyone to sit comfortably.
In a place like the Swissminiatur park, seating plays an important role. Visitors like to sit down from time to time to rest, to chat, to eat something or to observe the hustle and bustle. The Swiss Cerebral Foundation regularly finds that conventional benches can only be used to a limited extent by people with disabilities or motor disorders. This is because the generally relatively low seating surfaces make it difficult to sit down and, above all, to stand up safely.
For this reason, special benches have been created, where the seat is higher than normal. They also have a backrest with lumbar support and raised armrests. Thanks to this special ergonomics, they offer excellent seating comfort not only to disabled and elderly people, but also to those who are looking for unlimited rest. Ten such benches are currently being installed at the Swissminiatur in collaboration with the Cerebral Foundation, two of which have a special area for wheelchairs and walkers.
The Cerebral Foundation (Swiss Foundation for Children with Cerebral Palsy), certified by ZEWO, has been supporting families with children with cerebral palsy throughout Switzerland for 60 years and carries out numerous projects for people with disabilities, including those in Ticino.
An inauguration ceremony was held today in the presence of State Councillor Christian Vitta who, in addition to welcoming the initiative, recalled that Swissminiatur is an important tourist attraction for the Canton of Ticino. Thanks to the Ticino Ticket, the park registers a significant number of visits each year from tourists who spend the night throughout the canton.
