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Fiona Sun

More than half of the facilities at 26 shopping centres in Hong Kong fail to meet barrier-free building standards, a charity has found, calling for improved accessibility to better serve people with disabilities and the elderly.
The Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation released the results of its survey on Thursday after reviewing the degree of accessibility at entrances and bathrooms, passageways, information counters, lifts and escalators.
It found that more than half of the facilities at all 26 sites reviewed failed to meet the minimum requirements set up in the Design Manual – Barrier Free Access 2008, published by the Buildings Department.
Half of the 26 shopping centres assessed were built in 2008 or before.
“The situation reflected in the survey was just the tip of the iceberg,” said Iris Chan Kwan-ning, the organisation’s consultant for research and advocacy.
“The non-compliance at older shopping centres was worse, but the conditions of the newer ones were also not good,” she added.
Chan said many of the failures were found in entrances, information counters and lift lobbies.
The shopping centres did not have proper signage at barrier-free entrances and bathrooms, and pushing open the doors to bathrooms was difficult for wheelchair users. Information counters also did not have access for people using them from a seated position.
Thirty-three wheelchair users and others with mobility issues gave a score of 6.19 out of 10 for the facilities reviewed in the survey, which was conducted between August and October.
Stephen Muck Yiu-keung, a member of the Accessibility Concern Platform, noted that although some bathrooms designed for wheelchair users met the minimum area requirement, the rooms were obstructed by trash bins and other items, which made it difficult for residents with disabilities to move around.
Chan called for improvements at shopping centre facilities across the city and for authorities to step up law enforcement to ensure the sites followed building rules.
She also urged the government to revise the standards to improve accessibility, including increasing the area of barrier-free bathrooms, standardising signage and requiring regular inspections of the facilities.
Lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said the government should follow the example of countries such as Singapore and offer economic incentives to developers to improve barrier-free facilities, especially at a time when the population was rapidly ageing.
She said increasing accessibility at shopping centres and hotels could also help attract more tourists to the city.
“The government should offer policy support and economic incentives to prompt more private landlords and developers to improve barrier-free facilities,” she said.


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News

Hong Kong

Society

More than half of facilities at 26 shopping centres fail to meet minimum requirements set up in Design Manual – Barrier Free Access 2008


More than half of facilities at 26 shopping centres fail to meet minimum requirements set up in Design Manual – Barrier Free Access 2008.


Disability