Shanghai building more accessible public facilities ( 2003-11-18 16:30) (Shanghai Daily)
Shanghai will expand its
efforts to make public buildings and facilities more accessible to the disabled
next year, government officials announced at a meeting of leaders from 12 cities
yesterday.
About 25,000 public sites in the city will be renovated to include wheelchair
ramps and other furnishings by the end of 2006, the government announced at the
one-day seminar in Shanghai.
"As barrier-free facilities not only help disabled people but the aged and
sick as well, massive construction is needed," said Huang Jianzhi, vice director
of the Shanghai Construction Management Commission.
Large-scale construction will begin next year, with the major focus on
facilities closely related to disabled people's daily lives - such as public
toilets, banks and post offices.
The project is expected to cost about 500 million yuan (about US$60 million)
with the government picking up about 60 percent of the tab, city officials said.
The rest of the cost will be covered by corporate sponsors.
According to new legislation issued this year, all new buildings in Shanghai
should include wheelchair ramps.
Currently, there are 3,119 wheelchair-accessible buildings in the city, and
113 kilometers of special sidewalks for the blind. Some 162 public sites have
been renovated to become more accessible this year, about 74 percent of the
govern-ment's target for 2003.
While a lot of work has been done, many problems still exist, said Huang.
He said that since construction of sidewalks for the disabled is managed by
individual districts instead of the city government, there is no unified
network.
The sidewalks - raised paths that are kept clear of obstructions to help the
blind - often don't connect to one another, making it impossible to walk along
them for long distances, the official said.
"I always bump into unexpected obstacles on the special sidewalk, such as
bicycles parked randomly or stands set by the local vendors," said Jin Wei, a
local blind man.
While setting up obstructions on the sidewalks is punishable with a fine of
up to 5,000 yuan, it's rarely enforced.
Many other facilities for the disabled are not built in line with
international standards.
"The slope and building materials of our wheelchair ramps vary in different
places. Without a unified standard, steep slopes and slippery surfaces can make
them almost no help to the handicapped at all," Huang said
yesterday.
