New guidelines will be introduced from April next year to make buildings more accessible to the elderly and the disabled. Singapore's Building and Construction Authority (BCA) is revising laws which will require new buildings and existing ones undergoing major renovation works to be better connected.
Older buildings will also get some funding to defray upgrading cost.
Some disabled and elderly residents in Singapore have been frustrated by the lack of wheelchair-friendly features in current buildings.
"With aging population in Singapore, people will need to use the wheelchair, so with these facilities, they don't have to be so crammed at home," said Irene Toh, who started using a wheelchair five years ago when her polio condition became worse. "They can come out to have a new life, they can make friends," she added.
"If I want to go anywhere, I see the staircase, we can't do anything, how am I going to go up," said Mohammed Hussain Abdul Jabbar. "There needs to be an easier way for the handicapped."
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New guidelines to be introduced to enhance barrier-free accessibility
One way is to ensure older buildings like the 32-year-old Singapore Power Building get help to retrofit its premises. For this, the BCA has launched the S$40 million Accessibility Fund in April to co-fund the provision of basic accessibility features.
With the funding, BCA hopes that all buildings erected before 1990 can be fitted with barrier-free access features by 2011.
About S$340,000 have been spent to renovate the Singapore Power Building. It is the first building to receive a grant of S$90,000 from the Accessibility Fund.
The BCA has urged owners of buildings constructed before 1990 to add more barrier-free access features in their buildings.
It is estimated that some 40 per cent of old buildings along Orchard Road, Shenton Way and Bras Basah need to be upgraded with these facilities.
The authorities have also hammered out a new set of upgrading guidelines. Besides ramps and user-friendly toilets, lifts will also have to be equipped with features for those with other disabilities.
In addition, improvements will not be limited to within the buildings. Under the revised guidelines, new buildings will have to be accessible to open spaces, train stations and bus stops.
The BCA said that from next April, building designs that do not conform to the requirements will not be approved.
For existing buildings, BCA hopes that owners will voluntarily upgrade their properties.
"Our target would be buildings that are highly-frequented by the population," said Grace Fu, Minister of State for National Development.
"There are buildings that are still in a relatively good state because of the way it was designed and built. It's not easy for them to comply with the code, so we need to give them time. And it's not about paving a ramp, it's about some major renovation in some cases."
Ms Fu added that government agencies have also identified public buildings in need of better accessibility features, like the CPF Building. They are expected to become barrier free within 5 years.
The BCA has also published a new Universal Design guide to provide the industry with design recommendations so that the less mobile will not be unduly hindered. - CNA/yb
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