PLUS Expressways Berhad (PLUS) is not serious in including accessible facilities at the rest and service area (RSA) and lay-bys along the North South Expressway (NSE). This is evident from my previous complaints regarding the facilities at Tapah RSA that went unrectified till now.
Likewise, the purportedly parking for disabled persons at all the RSAs and lay-bys have not been redone to comply with Malaysian Standard MS 1184. Disabled persons have no place to park and get out from vehicles conveniently. Moreover, the those parking spaces are usually occupied by vehicles without disabled persons.
Toilet for disabled persons with the door opening inwards at Ulu Bernam RSA Southbound.
To add insult to injury, on my trip back from Ipoh last weekend, I discovered that the accessible toilet at the Ulu Bernam RSA Southbound was as good as useless. The door opened inwards. When I got in, I could not close the door due to the limited space inside for me to maneuver. I got Wuan to move the sanitary napkin disposal bin out. That did not help either. In the end, I emptied my bladder into the diaper I was wearing instead.
Before PLUS officials attend another conference on accessibility for disabled persons and proclaim to all and sundry that they provide such facilities at the RSAs and lay-bys, they should do an audit to ensure that these facilities are really functional and comply with the code of practice.
Putting a wheelchair logo on the toilet door or painting the logo on the parking space does not make them usable by disabled people. These facilities must comply with the Malaysian Standard MS 1184: Code of Practice for Access for Disabled Persons to Buildings. The document clearly spells out the proper dimension and requirements to make facilities usable by disabled people.
Surfed in yesterday while trying to look at your pic of a 100-year old durian tree. Read a few entries and now I follow you on twitter because your writing is fantastic, your personality is infectious, and you’re kind of bad ass.
Thanks for the compliments. Yeah, I have been called a bad ass, among others.
I don’t know what’s more disappointing….the fact that the builders/facility didn’t bother to do their homework or the fact that there’s just no oversight of violations. I am hoping that you will get a positive response from PLUS.
The powers that be do not see the importance of accessible facilities to people who need to use them, hence all the problems faced by disabled persons with regards to the built environment. I, too, hope PLUS will rectify the errors, instead of sitting on the problems like what they did to my last complaint. Thanks.