Malls still a challenge for disabled

Hong Kong malls may feature some disability-friendly facilities, but most are still failing to meet standards, rights groups say.

Shopping centres were making what amounted to gestures for ease-of-use, but the commitment ended there. In spot tests at 10 of the city's most popular malls, the groups found barriers blocking the very facilities installed for those with disabilities. Paths for the blind were cordoned off and wheelchair ramps at restaurant entrances were blocked by tables, among other issues they encountered.

These facilities were often rendered unusable, said Federation of the Blind executive director Tony Shing Li-lim, adding that lax government inspection was partly to blame.

"If we really adhered to the standard definition [of a no-barrier environment], most of the malls would fail," Shing said.

"The biggest problem is the thinking - [the malls] had no intention of serving those with disabilities, so their needs were not regarded in the design."

In the spot tests, conducted for the first time last year, about 20 blind, deaf-mute or wheelchair-bound people tried out doors, lifts and pathways in the 10 malls. The malls were ranked according to the availability and accessibility of their disability-friendly facilities, staff members' helpfulness and management's responses to suggestions.

The One, in Tsim Sha Tsui, was ranked second worst, despite being the newest mall on the list, having been built only in 2010. Problems started right from its main entrance, which had no automatic door - a mandatory feature listed in the 2008 Barrier-free Access Design Manual.