RAMPS will replace some steps or added where needed in all public housing estates in the next five years to make it easier for the elderly and disabled to move around.
To ensure that this ease of movement does not end at the housing block, the Government is also reviewing building rules to require barrier-free access not just within all new public and private buildings, but also in surrounding areas.
The Building and Construction Authority is consulting senior citizens and associations for the disabled for a review of the Code on Barrier Free Accessibility in Buildings. The review is expected to be done by year's end, and rules will come into effect towards the end of next year.
Announcing this yesterday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that the retrofitting of Housing Board blocks is expected to cost $15 million to $20 million.
It is part of a larger government push to make the living environment easier for the ageing population to get around in.
Already, moves are underway to have lifts which stop on every floor of public housing blocks, buses which are step-free and have low-set floors, and lifts and ramps in MRT stations.
The HDB, on its part, recently announced that all new flats will be equipped with ramps, easy-to-use lever taps and light switches, and provisions for grab bars in the toilets.
The board is also improving linked walkways between blocks and other amenities in the estates so that getting around will be as seamless as possible.
It has already tried this out in a Bukit Batok precinct, which has eight ramps costing $50,000 to make it accessible to wheelchair users.
This feature will be extended to all public housing estates - even those in opposition wards, said Mr Mah, who said he wanted to see such accessibility not just in housing estates, but also in the city area. 'I'd like to see a situation where somebody who is either disabled or not so mobile - of course, many of us are going to be in that position - will be able to move around, be able to have as enjoyable a time as the able-bodied person.'
Yesterday, Mr Mah also said the Government is thinking about how to nudge owners of existing private buildings to make their properties more disabled-friendly.
Reacting to the plans, the vice-president of the Handicaps Welfare Association, Ms Judy Wee, said she hoped to see stairs removed where possible and handrails provided for areas lacking them.
She also suggested that housing estates provide alternative routes to given destinations for wheelchair users, instead of just one route which may be cumbersome for those unfamiliar with the area.
Mr Michael Ngu, an architect from Architects 61, said the the HDB should go beyond making estates wheelchair-friendly to addressing the needs of the hearing- or visually-impaired as well. This can be done by including features such as different ground surfaces and colours.
He also pointed out that these disabled-friendly features would also have to be available within the entire estate, from the flats down to the playgrounds.
But Ms Wee hopes the new rules will not be seen as the be-all and end-all.
'We should encourage developers and architects, if there is space available, to provide more than what is required in the code. The code provides the basics, we should go beyond that.'
tanhy@sph.com.sg
