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What if the standard measure of safety and walkability of a sidewalk is wheelchair accessibility?
What if planners, engineers, contractors, government officials and elected officials have one day / week per year to use a wheelchair to move around using public spaces such as sidewalks?
In the Philippines, it seems like roads are constructed with 100% priority to vehicles. These vehicles are trucks, buses, cars, and the local jeepneys and tricycles. These are the kings of the Philippine Roads.
Others might argue that it is correct because they are road users. And they are right. But not entirely. There are other road users. We have the motorized vehicles, the bikers and the pedestrians. So, if the road is constructed for motorized vehicles, such road is not inclusive. Said road discriminated other road users – the bikers and pedestrians.
Let’s focus first on road inclusivity and the current discrimination. What is the profile of the people who are discriminated?
For bikers – these are the blue-collar workers from the lower socio-economic status (capenters, laborers, etc) who uses their bikes to go to work everyday because the public transport fare is expensive. There are also the weekend bikers or the hobbyist bikers who are more from the higher socio-economic standing with their expensive bicycles.
For pedestrians – we have students, women, senior citizens, and other able-bodied person who can still walk.
For pedestrian – it is abnormal to see a wheelchair accessible street in the Philippines. Persons with disabilities specifically wheelchair-bound PWDs have no right to use the sidewalks.
These are the people being discriminated in our public roads.
What amazes me is that the law provides for adequate space for other road users. Why isn’t the government follow the design in the Building Code of the Philippines? There are several designs in the said law based on road width – all with bikelane and sidewalk provisions.
I understand that some of the old roads are really narrow. But what I can’t fathom is why decide against bikers and pedestrians. Are they not important?
Adding insult to injury is providing spaces for bikers and pedestrians but not up to the standard dimensions required. Furthermore, specifically the sidewalks, all utilities such as electric posts, water lines, parked vehicles, stores, even garbage pick up sites are in the sidewalk. Making the space not usable for pedestrians.
What happens now if there are no spaces for bikers and pedestrians?
They are forced to pay for public transport even for short distances. They are compelled to share the space used by motorists. They bike and traverse dangerously with motorized vehicles. People walk in peril with motorized vehicles. The risk to accidents is really high. They might die. It is not safe. It is not inclusive. It is not good for the environment – increased carbon emission from vehicles. It is not fair. It is not just.
But let us not lose hope. Currently, there are new road projects that already incorporate other road users in the design, both local and national projects. There is also now the DPWH standard bike lane designs for future projects.
But I feel that it is not enough.
This is the reason of my proposal. My advocacy.
My proposal is to use as a standard measure of safety and walkability the wheelchair challenge and connectivity challenge. How?
a. Planners, engineers and contractors should use this standard in their plans and implementation of road projects. They themselves should ride a wheelchair to check the adequacy of the space alloted, usability, connectivity and safety of the road. Compliance with the wheelchair standard would be one of the factors requisite for the payment of the contruction company or contractor.
b. Planners, engineers, government officials and elected officials should have one day / week per year to use a wheelchair (by themselves or someone pushing them) and try to move around their territories. This way they themselves would firsthand feel the difficulty, danger, and discrimination of the common tao (person).
c. Other advocates to pick up and support, harp, and lobby the Wheelchair Challenge Standard test for road inclusivity. Students to consider the challenge in their studies and thesis.
After all, a progressive city is an inclusive and walkable city. A walkable city has safe and adequate spaces for pedestrians. You can never go wrong if you plan for a wheelchair accessible road – inclusive, walkable, and safe road.
What if planners, engineers, contractors, government officials and elected officials have one day / week per year to use a wheelchair to move around using public spaces such as sidewalks?
In the Philippines, it seems like roads are constructed with 100% priority to vehicles. These vehicles are trucks, buses, cars, and the local jeepneys and tricycles. These are the kings of the Philippine Roads.
Others might argue that it is correct because they are road users. And they are right. But not entirely. There are other road users. We have the motorized vehicles, the bikers and the pedestrians. So, if the road is constructed for motorized vehicles, such road is not inclusive. Said road discriminated other road users – the bikers and pedestrians.
Let’s focus first on road inclusivity and the current discrimination. What is the profile of the people who are discriminated?
For bikers – these are the blue-collar workers from the lower socio-economic status (capenters, laborers, etc) who uses their bikes to go to work everyday because the public transport fare is expensive. There are also the weekend bikers or the hobbyist bikers who are more from the higher socio-economic standing with their expensive bicycles.
For pedestrians – we have students, women, senior citizens, and other able-bodied person who can still walk.
For pedestrian – it is abnormal to see a wheelchair accessible street in the Philippines. Persons with disabilities specifically wheelchair-bound PWDs have no right to use the sidewalks.
These are the people being discriminated in our public roads.
What amazes me is that the law provides for adequate space for other road users. Why isn’t the government follow the design in the Building Code of the Philippines? There are several designs in the said law based on road width – all with bikelane and sidewalk provisions.
I understand that some of the old roads are really narrow. But what I can’t fathom is why decide against bikers and pedestrians. Are they not important?
Adding insult to injury is providing spaces for bikers and pedestrians but not up to the standard dimensions required. Furthermore, specifically the sidewalks, all utilities such as electric posts, water lines, parked vehicles, stores, even garbage pick up sites are in the sidewalk. Making the space not usable for pedestrians.
What happens now if there are no spaces for bikers and pedestrians?
They are forced to pay for public transport even for short distances. They are compelled to share the space used by motorists. They bike and traverse dangerously with motorized vehicles. People walk in peril with motorized vehicles. The risk to accidents is really high. They might die. It is not safe. It is not inclusive. It is not good for the environment – increased carbon emission from vehicles. It is not fair. It is not just.
But let us not lose hope. Currently, there are new road projects that already incorporate other road users in the design, both local and national projects. There is also now the DPWH standard bike lane designs for future projects.
But I feel that it is not enough.
This is the reason of my proposal. My advocacy.
My proposal is to use as a standard measure of safety and walkability the wheelchair challenge and connectivity challenge. How?
a. Planners, engineers and contractors should use this standard in their plans and implementation of road projects. They themselves should ride a wheelchair to check the adequacy of the space alloted, usability, connectivity and safety of the road. Compliance with the wheelchair standard would be one of the factors requisite for the payment of the contruction company or contractor.
b. Planners, engineers, government officials and elected officials should have one day / week per year to use a wheelchair (by themselves or someone pushing them) and try to move around their territories. This way they themselves would firsthand feel the difficulty, danger, and discrimination of the common tao (person).
c. Other advocates to pick up and support, harp, and lobby the Wheelchair Challenge Standard test for road inclusivity. Students to consider the challenge in their studies and thesis.
After all, a progressive city is an inclusive and walkable city. A walkable city has safe and adequate spaces for pedestrians. You can never go wrong if you plan for a wheelchair accessible road – inclusive, walkable, and safe road.
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