Don't let accessibility features become "barriers"

Wang Qi

With economic development and social progress, our country has made some achievements in the construction of barrier-free facilities, and many cities have launched special improvement campaigns for barrier-free environments. Barrier-free facilities were originally intended to help people with disabilities, the elderly, and others who have mobility difficulties or vision impairments. However, research has found that some public places lack barrier-free facilities or have them occupied, and some facilities are not usable or not usable at all, preventing people with mobility difficulties from traveling smoothly.

Barrier-free facilities have turned into “obstacles,” and the problem takes many forms. In urban plazas, barrier-free passages are blocked by S-shaped steel pipes and fixed iron chains, so wheelchairs cannot pass, and people using crutches can only struggle to move; the entrances to hospitals lack accessible ramps, and security personnel even require elderly people to pass through isolation railings, leaving both the elderly and their families feeling helpless. Barrier-free restrooms are fraught with issues: in some cases, the length of safety grab bars, the position of paper dispensers, and the location of emergency call buttons do not meet standards; in other cases, restrooms are shut down, repurposed for other uses, or have extremely poor sanitary conditions. Tactile paving is occupied by electric scooters and vehicles, becoming “dead-end roads,” and even suffers poor slip resistance in rainy weather due to material problems. Braille signs are missing or incorrect, misleading people with vision impairments. Missing audio prompts cause people with vision impairments to lose their way while traveling. These phenomena are not isolated cases; they exist widely across multiple regions, reflecting many loopholes in the construction and management of barrier-free facilities.

Barrier-free facilities turning into “obstacles” has complex underlying causes. From a legal perspective, the current legislation model is a promotive one, with many exhortative provisions, an incomplete supervision mechanism, and a need to further detail the allocation of responsibilities and authority. Relevant local legislation urgently needs revision. As a result, when barrier-free facilities are occupied, people who need them find it difficult to actively exercise their rights. During the construction process, real-world challenges such as conflicts over property rights, spatial limitations, structural safety, and funding inputs also impose many “tailored” requirements for improving the environment, limiting the completion of facilities. In the management phase, problems such as unclear responsible parties, mutual blame-shifting, insufficient coordination powers, or lack of resources lead to a situation where barrier-free facilities are “rebuilt but not properly managed,” preventing timely and effective maintenance.

Barrier-free facilities turning into “obstacles” brings negative impacts that cannot be ignored. For special groups such as people with disabilities and the elderly, this seriously affects their freedom of movement and quality of life, reducing their motivation to integrate into society. From a societal perspective, this goes against the original intention of barrier-free environment construction—“shared by all”—and is not conducive to building an inclusive, harmonious social environment. Moreover, it also causes waste of resources: the state invests large sums to build barrier-free facilities, yet because of various problems they fail to play their intended role.

To address the issue of barrier-free facilities turning into “obstacles,” coordinated efforts are needed from multiple parties. Strengthening top-level design is crucial: improve relevant laws and regulations, further detail the allocation of responsibilities and authority, and intensify accountability for violations, providing solid legal protection for barrier-free environment construction. In the supervision and management phase, relevant departments should proactively optimize responsibility division and work processes, establish special functions to coordinate barrier-free needs, and achieve service that is systematic and professional. At the same time, encourage social forces to participate, and invite actual users such as people with disabilities and the elderly to take part in the planning, construction, and inspection and acceptance of barrier-free facilities, bringing in digital and intelligent technologies to enhance the level of intelligent supervision. By crossing inter-departmental and industry barriers and using industrial modernization and scaling up as guidance, more business entities can be mobilized to participate in innovation, and in promoting applications in barrier-free related industries.

Barrier-free environment construction is an important marker of social progress and civilization, and it concerns the vital interests of everyone. We must not allow barrier-free facilities to turn into “obstacles.” Instead, we should work together to ensure these facilities truly function, and to provide special groups with a convenient “patch of sky.”

This column article only represents the author’s personal views

(Editor-in-charge: Wang Zhiqiang HF013）

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