BMA vows to improve sidewalks to be more accessible to wheelchairs, the blind

The BMA’s announcement on its Facebook page at 11am drew applause from Bangkok residents, who said they want to see the plan implemented as soon as possible.

Sidewalks in the capital are notorious for lack of slopes to provide wheelchair users easy access, and the sidewalks are often too high for them to push their wheelchairs on to. Worse still, many sidewalks are not level and are blocked with utility structures, trees and other things, lack any system to guide the blind.

The BMA said in the post that public complaints about sidewalks were among the top categories of complaints the city administration received.

The post said it would improved sidewalks to provide universal access to all, and the improvements would be carried out as a pilot project on 16 roads first.

The BMA said it would carry out 10 kinds of improvements:

- To lower the height of sidewalks from 18.5 to 10 centimetres

- To lower the height of entrances to buildings and sois from 18.5cm to 10cm

- To change pavement of sidewalks to 10cm cement reinforced with 6-millimetre iron bars

- To make entrances of buildings the same level as sidewalks so as not to obstruct wheelchair users

- To change all slopes to sidewalks to a 1:12 ratio in line with international standards

- The surface of pavements will be asphalt printed with patterns

- Rainwater drainage spots will be changed from vertical to horizontal and made seamless with the road’s surface

- Public facilities on sidewalks will be relocated so as not to block the way of sidewalk users

- The middle of sidewalks will be laid with braille bricks to guide the blind

- Heightened edges of planted trees will be changed to porous asphalt on the same height as the walkway so that no one will be obstructed.

The post said the BMA did not ignore public complaints and would try to improve the sidewalks to make them usable by all.