Source : Sunday Times - 8 Mar 2009
A wish list for senior citizens living in any housing estate would surely include slopes instead of kerbs, and covered drains to enhance wheelchair access.
Also in demand would be tactile road markings in bright colours to highlight changes in levels and directions, gentle slopes and ramps to mitigate changes in levels, and slip-resistant service roads and footpaths facing shops.
Barrier-free and elderly friendly features like these will be coming soon - to MacPherson Gardens.
It will be the first private estate to have these features under a government-funded Estate Upgrading Programme for private residential estates.
At a ground-breaking ceremony yesterday, guest of honour Fatimah Lateef said the mature estate, in need of upgrading and with a large number of senior citizens, was an ideal pilot project.
‘Many of the senior citizens here are in need of barrier-free access and it’s very timely to implement at a point when we need to cater to this group of people,’ Dr Fatimah, an MP for Marine Parade GRC, said.
About 22 per cent of the 1,581 residents in 397 units in MacPherson Gardens are above 60 years old.
Project architect Huang Jia-yeu said: ‘We aim towards a zero-barrier situation, whether for a person in a wheelchair or a parent pushing a stroller, to have no hassle in getting about.’
The upgrading work, expected to be finished in 15 months, will cost about $6.7 million.
In her speech, Dr Fatimah assured residents that, despite the ongoing global economic and financial crisis, the Government has planned for and set aside funds for its projects.
‘For issues like education, upgrading and health care, we cannot compromise. These are basic needs so work has to carry on and life has to go on,’ said Dr Fatimah.
Account assistant Regina Lim, 36, a resident, is sure the new features will enable her 74-year-old wheelchair-bound mother to move around with ease.
‘Now, the kerbs are hard to manage but the barrier-free features will make it easier for me to take my mum to various amenities here,’ she said.
Opera Estate, East View and Mount Sinai will be the next private estates in line for such upgrading.
FEATURES THAT RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT
~ Covered drains
~ Gentle slopes and ramps
~ Tactile road markings in bright colours to highlight changes in levels and directions
~ Rain shelters with sufficient space for wheelchairs
~ Elderly-friendly seats with arm rests
~ Slip-resistant finishes on footpaths and service roads facing shops
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