Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
They Did Hear Us.
In Nov 2012, I wrote that Penang State Museum And Art Gallery did not have wheelchair access (see link HERE), I am happy to say that it now has. I was told by one of their staff that a ramp and an accessible toilet were added not long after my post was published. I wish to thank the authority for listening to the voice of disabled persons. I visited the place yesterday (Dec 14, 2014) and here is my short report.
The new and beautifully designed ramp is at the left side of the gallery compound. I like this ramp because it has a gentle slope, good width and non-slip floor. It also has a pair of well-designed handrails. It would be perfect if it has edge protection at both sides of the ramp. But as a whole it is still a safe ramp to use.
I had no problem locating the accessible toilet. There were clear signages to indicate its location. The toilet is reasonably good and it is useable for most wheelchair users. I was surprised to see that the door opening inwards. But since the toilet is very big, I had no problem turning my wheelchair around to close the door.
The toilet bowl was correctly placed. There was enough space for people who use side transfers. (See this video if you want to know what is side transfer.) For more information about accessible toilet, please click HERE.
But I was disappointed to see that grab bars. They were not installed properly. Here is a drawing showing how grab bars should be installed. For more information about please click the link HERE.
After the visit, I concluded that although the Penang government wants to have more disabled access, the quality of access design is still lacking. Malaysian Standards have clear specifications for disabled access, but many designers are still unable to follow the standards correctly. There may be a need for the authority to organise more training sessions to help more people understand the subtleties and requirements of disabled access standards.
The new and beautifully designed ramp is at the left side of the gallery compound. I like this ramp because it has a gentle slope, good width and non-slip floor. It also has a pair of well-designed handrails. It would be perfect if it has edge protection at both sides of the ramp. But as a whole it is still a safe ramp to use.
The photo below shows a ramp with edge protection. The purpose of edge protection is to prevent small front wheels of wheelchairs from slipping off the ramp.
I had no problem locating the accessible toilet. There were clear signages to indicate its location. The toilet is reasonably good and it is useable for most wheelchair users. I was surprised to see that the door opening inwards. But since the toilet is very big, I had no problem turning my wheelchair around to close the door.
But I was disappointed to see that grab bars. They were not installed properly. Here is a drawing showing how grab bars should be installed. For more information about please click the link HERE.
After the visit, I concluded that although the Penang government wants to have more disabled access, the quality of access design is still lacking. Malaysian Standards have clear specifications for disabled access, but many designers are still unable to follow the standards correctly. There may be a need for the authority to organise more training sessions to help more people understand the subtleties and requirements of disabled access standards.
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Helping Wheelchair Users - Three Points To Remember
A lot of people do not know how help wheelchair users. I am giving three importants tips here. Of course there are many more but let's start with these very important points first.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
International Day Of Persons With Disabilities
Friday, October 31, 2014
Designing Doorways For Wheelchair Users
Most people are not aware that not all doorways are suitable for wheelchair users. There are certain special requirements if you want to design a really good doorways for wheelchair users. I hope this post helps you understand some of the important requirements.
The key points to remember are:
1, There should be sufficient space for wheelchair users to maneuver at both the "push" and "pull" sides of the doors. (See drawing below for what is meant.)
2, Handles, pulls and other opening devices must be suitable for persons with reduced strength and dexterity to control.
3, Lever type handles and push lock mechanisms are preferred.
4, Glass doors must have bright and colored motifs at eye level.
The key points to remember are:
1, There should be sufficient space for wheelchair users to maneuver at both the "push" and "pull" sides of the doors. (See drawing below for what is meant.)
2, Handles, pulls and other opening devices must be suitable for persons with reduced strength and dexterity to control.
3, Lever type handles and push lock mechanisms are preferred.
4, Glass doors must have bright and colored motifs at eye level.
Please note the difference between the "Push Side" and "Pull Side" of doorway.
The drawing above illustrates the importance of having clear space in front of a door. The clear space (marked as yellow box in the left drawing) must be placed at the correct position. The wheelchair user at the right drawing has problem reaching the door handle due to lack of clear space.
Layout of door handle, door bell ..etc should follow the above drawing.
Level type handle is preferred.
Persons who have limited fingers movements will have problem with this type of door knob.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Budget 2015, Employment & Wheelchair Users
The trend in Malaysia is that the working disabled persons get more welfare allowance than the non-working ones. I think that is unfair to many non-working wheelchair users. Here is why.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
The Penang Struggles: Signature Campaign For Persons With Disabilities Act
(I have been requested to document the struggles of the disabled persons of Penang. I will be making a series of videos on this topic. I shall call these videos "The Penang Struggles". Here is one of the videos.)
More than 10 years ago, the PWD ngos of Penang organised this very successful signature campaign. It was one of the milestones of SILA (Sustainable Independent Living & Access), a forum for PWD ngos of Penang.
More than 10 years ago, the PWD ngos of Penang organised this very successful signature campaign. It was one of the milestones of SILA (Sustainable Independent Living & Access), a forum for PWD ngos of Penang.
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