SIDEWALK ACCESSIBILITY AT MELAKA’S TRADITIONAL STREETS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (PwDs)

Abstract

The accessibility of street as a social arena that fulfils the need for people with disabilities (PwDs) is an important consideration in the urban design of an area. With the rising number of PwDs in Malaysia, this aspect of street design is even more critical. This paper evaluates the accessibility level of sidewalk along Jalan Hang Jebat, Melaka to PwDs. On-site access audit simulation was carried out. Actual PwDs were engaged for the simulation. It was found that the sidewalk in inaccessible to PwDs due to presence of barriers and the design of the sidewalk itself. This paper suggest that the minimum requirement of MS1184:2014 must be implemented in the sidewalk design and the concept of 'shared space' can be adopted in the study area.

Accessibility for Persons With Disabilities in Built Environment of Urban Area: Case Study of George Town, Penang

“…PwD encounter numerous challenges in urban areas, including accessibility. They are unable to access the significant areas of cities because of inaccessibility in the built environment (Baris & Uslu, 2009;Ja'afar, Rahim, Samad, & Rahim, 2017). PwD, such as wheelchair users, the visually impaired, the hearing impaired, and others in various positions, face numerous obstacles when navigating the built environment.…”

Volume 16 : 2018

“…Sidewalk with sufficient width would allow at least two people to walk comfortably side by side or in opposite direction, and also would allow wheelchair users to move conveniently. Wheelchair users require 1.5m width to turn around and 1.8m to pass other wheelchair users (Boodlal, 2004;Ja'afar, Sulaiman, & Shamsuddin, 2015;Ja'afar et al, 2017;Grey et al, 2011). Walking zone should be straight and continuous and free of all obstacle to allow people to walk in the most direct route possible.…”

“…Streets also function as a space for families and friends and sometimes a living room or a dining room for city dwellers (Oranratmanee & Sachakul, 2014). Thus, streets symbolize the public realm where people spend a majority of their time (Jacobs 1961;Ja'afar, Rahim, Samad, & Rahim, 2017;Zaidin, Hussain, Tukiman, & Shahli, 2015). According to Carr (1992), there are five major reasons why people go to public places.…”

Persons with disability perception of facilities management service quality: hospital buildings in Malaysia

“…The implementation of the Persons with Disabilities Act 685 (2008) has driven towards providing protection, rehabilitation, development and well-being of PWDs. Recently, the attention towards PWDs is increasing by the action of accommodating PWDs’ needs in various areas such as education institutions, public transports, national parks, shopping malls, hotels, tourism industry, mosques and public buildings (Bashiti and Abdul Rahim, 2015; Bashiti and Rahim, 2016; Ismail et al , 2015; Ja'afar et al , 2017; Kadir and Jamaludin, 2012; Rahim and Abdullah, 2009; Rahim et al , 2010; Sanmargaraja and Wee, 2011, 2015a, b; Wee and Sanmargaraja, 2015). However, the study on PWDs in hospital building is still lacking.…”