A Lesson For Planning Disabled Access

The above photos were taken at the northern entrance of Queensbay Mall. One can learn about the importance of planning from these photos. I give credit to the management of the building for providing a reasonably good ramp that leads to the entrance. But alas, they forgot to make a step ramp in the original design. So a temporary step ramp was made to allow wheelchair users to reach the front porch from the street.

The problem with this temporary fixture is that it has deteriorated with time. When I checked it during my visit on Nov 2, 2013, heavy wear and tear had caused the step ramp to misalign with the edge of the podium. (See above photo). A better approach is to provide a step ramp at the location suggested in the following photo.

There are two types of step ramps (see drawings below). Type A is actually not very good and often built as an addition to a forgotten plan.

I prefer type B, because it is less obstructive and takes up less space.

The moral of this story is that good planning is important for disabled access. If the management had planned for a step ramp in the original design, the temporary step ramp would not have been necessary.

Below is a short video about the correct way to build a type B step ramp. Click HERE.