IT is always very
encouraging to note when disabled-friendly facilities continue to improve and
expand everywhere.
One of the popular local
activist on the movement to create liveable cities in Petaling Jaya, Jeffrey
Phang, 57, just came back from a weekend holiday in Singapore.
No sooner had the able-bodied
social and environmentalist returned, he quickly got his pen cracking in an
email to me last week with rhapsodies about his
wheelchair-friendly encounters in the Lion City.
Wrote Jeffrey:
“It has been years since I
visited Singapore.
“On my latest trip there I was hoping
to find ideas on how I could introduce more disabled friendly features into the
Kota Damansara community forest where I as chairman led a team of nature-lovers
to save the forest which was finally gazetted in 2010.
“We had already initiated
wheelchair-friendly designs in 2006 through a small grant. It included a
special wheelchair accessible canopy with camping, barbecue facilities and a
sand pit where wheelchair-users could roll over and enjoy nature too.
“The funds was used to set some
initial infrastructure groundwork for a wheelchair toilet and a pathway into
the forest.”
Jeffrey pointed out that he used
his holiday trip with his family to Singapore as an unofficial ‘study trip’ to
see how it could help him integrate better disability access for the disabled
and senior citizens in the forest and elsewhere.
The adventure was extremely
eye-opening. His first stop was at the Mass Rapid Transit stations in the
island city.
“On approaching the station’s entrance, I saw a man on an electric wheelchair coming down a ramp and before I knew it, he had already zoomed past me into the nearby supermarket.
“I was impressed at the way
people with otherwise restricting physical conditions could not only move about
freely in the station but also do it with incredible speed with their powered
wheelchairs!”, Jeffrey who is Associate Professor at Tunku Abdul Rahman
University (UTAR) in Kajang, Selangor pointed out.
“The ticketing machines had buttons low enough for wheelchair passengers to reach without asking anyone for assistance. There was also a special entrance lane for them that is wider and clearly marked with a wheelchair logo.
“The ticketing machines had buttons low enough for wheelchair passengers to reach without asking anyone for assistance. There was also a special entrance lane for them that is wider and clearly marked with a wheelchair logo.
“I also noted that the ticket-touch
system was a great help instead of fumbling about trying to get a slim card exactly
into a slot.”
Jeffrey said he suddenly wondered about other passengers such as the blind, deaf and senior citizens.
Jeffrey said he suddenly wondered about other passengers such as the blind, deaf and senior citizens.
He was pleased to see stainless
steel guiding blocks built into the highly polished floor all over inside the
building.
“This was a brilliant
combination of aesthetic beauty incorporating functionality as well for the
sighted and the sight impaired.
“The guiding blocks lead all the
way to a lift which was clearly marked for the elderly and disabled. All other
passengers had to use the escalators.”
Here are more of Jeffrey’s
discoveries in brief:
·
Low glass protective barriers at entire length of
arrival platform of trains to prevent wheelchairs from accidentally falling
into tracks whilst waiting near the edge. The barriers are synchronised with
the trains’ doors and open together.
·
The gap between the train and the platform is
hardly noticeable providing smooth access to wheelchairs into the train.
Inside, there are clear signs of all the train stops in green lighted circles
while the current stop is red that constantly blink. Deaf passengers have LED
displays with rolling messages that constantly keep them informed with audio
announcements. Even which door will open when the train arrives at each destination
is clearly indicated with blinking lights. Blind passengers are guided by clear
announcements.
·
Seat rows are designed to accommodate wheelchairs.
The blind have their clear audio announcements,
·
(In Vivo City) shopping complex, toilets had
sliding doors with soft touch electronic buttons at the right wheelchair users’
level, spacious layout with universal design specifications.
·
Singapore Zoo: Visitors with walking difficulties
have various options. Services for hire are for young children who need a push
chair or play trolley, elderly persons who cannot walk long distances but still
desire independent mobility can hire a battery driven vehicle. Even a
physically disabled person can steer themselves around the zoo in them. The
only equipment that is available free of charge for wheelchairs.
Jeffrey
said his excursion made him realise how vital it is for everyone to start
including them now in the planning stage rather than later where it can be
costly.
He
pointed out that it is regretful that the people who need such facilities are
the ones like the disabled, elderly and the poor who don’t or never get it.
“As for
Kota Damansara, it’s time for everyone to realise that nature also belongs to
the elderly and the disabled. We realised this when we brought the blind,
wheelchair users and special children to visit the forest.
“And
there’s a lot more work to do before the forest can be friendly for everyone.
“In any case, in an aging society everyone will become disabled or less-abled. To ignore accessibility today will be to reap the fruits of our apathy when in our old age we get locked out of society. We will only have ourselves to blame when that happens,” Jeffrey concluded.
The End.
“In any case, in an aging society everyone will become disabled or less-abled. To ignore accessibility today will be to reap the fruits of our apathy when in our old age we get locked out of society. We will only have ourselves to blame when that happens,” Jeffrey concluded.
The End.
No comments:
Post a Comment