Nowhere safe for Jakarta's disabled people<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Watching the participants of the Road Safety Day Workshop at the
\nOffice of the Ministry of Communications recently, I became aware
\nof the formidable difficulty people with disabilities face in
\ntrying to get around Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Jakarta is considered by many as one of the unfriendliest
\ncities in the world for pedestrians. For the disabled, the
\ncapital is, in fact, more like a landmine-peppered jungle.<\/p>\n
Even along Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat -- one of the city's major
\nthoroughfares, adjacent to the National Monument Park --
\npavements full of holes are always waiting to trap the unwary
\npedestrian.<\/p>\n
A person in a wheelchair may find his wheels stuck in a
\ngrating, and the blind may suddenly find themselves running smack
\ninto a tree or electricity pole while walking on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n
\"Our sidewalks are hazardous even for children,\" I Gde Jaya
\nUsadha from the non-governmental organization Yayasan Tanpa Batas
\n(No Limits Foundation) said, explaining that many of the
\npavements were built too high and manholes were often not
\ncovered.<\/p>\n
The workshop -- organized by Pelangi together with the
\nMinistry of Communications, and held to mark World Health Day on
\nApril 7 -- allowed students, building operators and ministry
\nofficials to experience what it is like to be disabled in
\nJakarta. Blacked-out goggles and sticks, crutches, and
\nwheelchairs were all provided to enhance the experience.<\/p>\n
\"It's no wonder you rarely see people with disabilities
\nwalking on the streets,\" said one participant after trying out
\nthe wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Ramps linking buildings to the street, even at the Ministry of
\nCommunications building, are far too steep. They are almost
\nimpossible to climb by wheelchair-bound people, while coming
\ndown, they are in danger of losing control.<\/p>\n
After asking others to help, two participants tried to
\nmaneuver up the ramp, Usadha -- himself wheelchair-bound --
\nwheeled his own chair up, \"I've done this for eight years, I'm
\nstrong enough now to do it without help.\"<\/p>\n
Usadha said that the ideal slope for ramps was a 1 centimeter
\nincline for every 12 centimeters of ramp, with 1:10 still
\nacceptable.<\/p>\n
Out on the road, the difficulties increase. Curb ramps are
\nabsent on most sidewalks rendering wheelchairs useless and
\ncreating complications for the blind and those using crutches.<\/p>\n
Crossing the road poses another hazard. Although one could say
\nthat the pedestrian crossings at Monas are both audible as well
\nas visual, as suggested by Universal Design, the absence of
\nguiding blocks meant the visually impaired will not be able to
\ncross safely without assistance.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know where to cross, nothing gives me an indication
\nof which way to go,\" a participant wearing the blacked-out
\ngoggles and using a stick said. It was lucky he had somebody with
\nhim to tell him where to go -- others may not be so fortunate.<\/p>\n
Even the newly built busway system is not designed with the
\ndisabled, children or elderly in mind.<\/p>\n
The ramps leading to the bus stops are not covered with non-
\nslip material and are dangerous during rain. Some bus stops, like
\nthe one at Harmony, Central Jakarta, are even inaccessible to
\npeople with wheelchairs because of the absence of ramps.<\/p>\n
These are only a few of the things that make it difficult for
\npeople with disabilities to move around. The participants in the
\nworkshop worked their way through sidewalks, phone booths, ticket
\nbooths, busway stops, and even buses, and found many more
\nproblems.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Communications' director for the management of
\ncity transportation systems, Suripno, admitted to these
\nshortcomings despite government regulations requiring public
\nfacilities to be accessible to all.<\/p>\n
\"It's not that people with disabilities want special
\ntreatment, we don't. There's nothing special about me, I am at
\nbest ordinary. We just want equal access to public facilities,\"
\nUsadha said.<\/p>\n
Instead of designing or producing special equipment for the
\nuse of the disabled, one way to provide equal access is to employ
\nthe Universal Design Code when designing public facilities.<\/p>\n
Universal design is the design of products and environments to
\nbe usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without
\nthe need for adaptation or specialized design.<\/p>\n
Universal design requires every design to be useful and
\nmarketable to people with diverse abilities (equitable use),
\naccommodate a wide range of individual preferences and abilities
\n(flexibility in use), to be easy to understand regardless of the
\nuser's experience, knowledge, language skills or current
\nconcentration level (simple and intuitive).<\/p>\n
The design should also communicate necessary information
\neffectively regardless of ambient conditions of the user's
\nsensory abilities (perceptible information), minimize hazards and
\nthe adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions
\n(tolerance for error). It should require only low physical effort
\nto use, and provide adequate size and space for approach and use.<\/p>\n
\"It is a known fact that 80 percent of people will use ramps
\neven when stairs are available. Why? Because they are easier on
\nthe limbs, whether for the disabled or for women, children and
\nthe elderly,\" Usadha said, adding that if this code were employed
\nprior to construction, there should be no additional cost.<\/p>\n
\"As it is, we can't study at (public) university as the
\nUniversity of Indonesia doesn't even have elevators for lecture
\nrooms on the fourth floor,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/nowhere-safe-for-jakartas-disabled-people-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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