A Study of the adequacy of barrier free facilities in public open space in Hong Kong

Abstract

Due to the increasing trend of the number of persons with disabilities in Hong Kong, the demand and the standard of the Barrier Free Facilities are also increasing. The high quantity and high quality of Barrier Free Facilities are necessary for tackling the increasing trend. Moreover, the existing problems among persons with disabilities will become more significant under the increasing trend such as the social participation and mental health problems. Fortunately, these problems can be solved by POS since it can bring both social and mental health benefits to the visitors. Therefore, persons with disabilities in Hong Kong should be encouraged to visit POS more often. However, it is important to ensure POS is accessible for persons with disabilities. In this regard, it remains to be further explored whether the Barrier Free Facilities are adequate to provide good accessibility in POS in order to meet the expectations and needs of persons with disabilities. The pursuit of this goal is also a key objective of this study. This study conducted a literature review on the expectations and needs of persons with disabilities. Additionally, this study conducted a comparative review on the practice and the policys of Barrier Free Facilities in Hong Kong, London and Singapore. The study also conducted a questionnaire and 2 in-person interviews to achieve the study goal. The research indicates that persons with disabilities have low frequency in visiting POS and they do not feel satisfied with the Barrier Free Facilities in the POS. The design of the Barrier Free Facilities in POS cannot cater people with diverse needs. It was also found that Hong Kong does not have much effort on developing the standard of accessibility assessment and the education related to the Barrier Free Facilities. As a result, the Barrier Free Facilities in POS are not adequate. It is recommended that the Hong Kong Government should adopt the concept of Universal Design to modify “Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008” to cater people with diverse needs. The concept of accessibility should be included in the education system. Hong Kong Government should standardize the accessibility assessment and provide the certificate courses for the accessibility assessors. Management companies should schedule regular cleaning and maintenance work to maintain the quality of the Barrier Free Facilities. Management companies are crucial to also provide training for the staff to enhance the supporting services for the Barrier Free Facilities.