A spokeswoman said on Monday that staff workers at the Beijing Paralympic Village have done their best to create a barrier-free environment for the athletes, and have so far received many letters of commendation while seeing not a single complaint letter.
"Different from the Olympic Village, residents of the Paralympic Village are mainly physically and visually disabled athletes, so we try to provide barrier-free infrastructure facilities and services," said Deng Yaping, spokeswoman of the Beijing Paralympic Village, at a press conference at the Main Press Center for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
Deng, a four-time Olympic table tennis champion, told journalists that it only took the village staff 26 hours to convert the Olympic Village into a barrier-free Paralympic Village.
They equipped and improved 180 ramps in the commercial area and the fitness center, paved 210 sidewalks for the visually-impaired in the village, widened the entry and exit passages in the flag raising square, and established special platforms and parking areas for the disabled at the welcome center and bus stations.
They also set up the classification center, the artificial limb and wheelchair repair center, and the wheelchair storing center within the 26 hours, and replaced all the Olympic logos in the village with the Paralympic logos, said Deng.
She said that "the village staff paid much attention to details when providing services for the Paralympians."
In a bid to provide more conveniences for the Paralympians, the height of all switches and hooks in their apartments have been lowered, soaps in all bathrooms replaced with squeeze-type bath lotion, and umbrellas substituted by raincoats.
Apartment cleaners worked on two shifts and cleaned the apartments once every 1.5 hours in order to ensure a clean and comfortable living environment for the athletes. Buses in the village are equipped with wheelchair fixers for the safety of wheelchair users.