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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Che-cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (July 9):
Question:
In order to create a universally accessible environment, the Government has installed tactile guide paths (guide paths), formed by specially made tactile tiles, on footpaths and in other public transport facilities, to lead persons with visual impairment to the public facilities concerned. Some members of the public have relayed to me that they once slipped and fell on the guide paths in the rain, and were thus badly bruised and taken to the hospital for treatment. It has been noted that there have been reports of similar accidents from time to time in the past few years. According to my observation, the slip resistance of the surfaces of the tactile tiles is good when the tiles are dry but bad when wet. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports received by the authorities in the past three years about members of the public slipping and falling on the guide paths, and the number of persons injured as a result; the authorities' general handling procedure upon receipt of such reports;
(2) of the standards on slip resistance to which the surfaces of the tactile tiles should conform, and the details of such standards;
(3) of the materials of which the existing two types of tactile tiles, one in silver and the other in yellow, were made; the coefficients of friction between such materials in contact with water and different types of shoes; whether the authorities have tested the slip resistance of the tactile tiles under wet conditions; and
(4) whether it will consider re-designing the guide paths, or switch to use tactile tiles made of materials with better slip resistance, so as to reduce the occurrence of accidents of members of the public slipping and falling; if it will, of the details?
Reply:
President,
The Government strives to provide barrier-free access with continuous improvement with a view to enabling persons with disabilities (including the visually impaired) to access their destinations in a barrier-free manner. Government-owned footways and public transport facilities are mainly managed and maintained by the Transport Department (TD) and the Highways Department (HyD) respectively. The TD plans and designs tactile guide paths at appropriate locations to meet the needs of the visually impaired, while the HyD constructs and maintains the relevant facilities.
Given that public footways and the relevant public transport facilities are usually exposed in the open air, the HyD has taken into account the wet outdoor environment when setting the requirements of materials of tactile tiles. After paving the tactile guide paths, the HyD conducts regular inspection and arranges timely repairs to ensure that the tactile tiles are maintained in good condition.
Our reply to the four parts of the Hon Leung Che-cheung's question is as follows:
(1) Over the past three years, the HyD received a total of about 10 cases involving slip resistance of tactile tiles. Of these, one person indicated that he slipped on a wet floor due to a rainy day, but did not indicate any injury thus caused.
Upon receipt of a report of the problems about tactile tiles (including slip cases) from the public, the HyD will conduct site inspection and, if necessary, will temporarily fence off the affected area and arrange repairs. A reply will be provided within seven working days for the follow-up actions that have been made.
(2) The materials of the tactile tiles laid by the HyD have to undergo slip resistance tests conducted in a wet environment in accordance with ASTM C1028, an internationally recognised standard established by the American Society for Testing and Materials. As regards slip resistance, the materials have to conform to the requirements on the coefficient of friction (CoF) from AS/NZS 4586 and 3661, internationally recognised standards established by the Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand. The above standards are commonly adopted internationally.
(3) and (4) While the tactile tiles laid by the HyD are mostly in yellow, silver ones are largely laid by other organisations on access inside their buildings. The tactile tiles used by the HyD are mainly made of concrete, clay, ceramic or artificial granite, similar to the core materials used in making pavement blocks. As regards slip resistance, upon the HyD's request, contractors are required to conduct slip resistance tests in a wet environment for tactile tiles in accordance with ASTM C1028 as mentioned in part (2) above, and submit a test certificate to show that the tactile tiles conform to the CoF requirements from AS/NZS 4586 and 3661 as mentioned in part (2) above, to give assurance about the slip resistance concerned. The HyD will continue to keep abreast of the latest development of tactile tiles around the world with a view to making continuous improvement.
Ends/Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:38
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