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Polly Hui

The Equal Opportunities Commission  plans to launch an investigation next year into the building-access problems faced by the disabled and elderly.

Residential areas, commercial buildings and public transport would be inspected to identify accessibility black spots, commission spokeswoman Mariana Law Po-chu said.

Ms Law  said the group would also review complaints  received over the past few years and advocate a universal design  to make facilities accessible to all.

'We have been fully aware of the accessibility problems faced by the disabled, the elderly and pregnant women for many years,' she said. 'We hope that the investigation will enable us to adopt a systematic approach to solve these problems.'

Ms Law said previous investigations had been  smaller and piecemeal.

A total of 108 complaints about accessibility under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance were lodged with the commission between 2001 and July this year. Of these, 39 cases were solved by conciliation and 24 were found to be unsubstantiated.

The 1995 ordinance  says it is unlawful to discriminate against a person with a disability by denying them  access to  buildings the public is entitled to enter or use.

Ms Law said the commission  hoped the investigation could be launched next year.  It would  collaborate with government departments, property groups and non-governmental organisations.

Ng Yan-yee,  an organiser at the First Step Association, a group helping people seriously injured at work, said she would support the investigation if it  resulted in more resources and helped improve the environment for the disabled.

But she urged the government to look into the loopholes of  design regulations introduced by the Building Department in 1997. There were accessibility problems  in many  pre-1997 structures because laws were not retrospective.

'I understand that major structural changes are not feasible in some old residential buildings. However, the government must give  disabled people an alternative to being imprisoned. One way to do so is to give them discretion and priority to move to public housing flats that provide better accessibility,'  she said.

Timothy Ma Kam-wah,  executive director of the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association,  urged the government to speed up work  in old buildings to cater for the ageing population.



Buildings probe to focus on access for disabled and elderly