********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
The first public rental housing (PRH) estate that has adopted a comprehensive Universal Design - Shek Kip Mei (SKM) Phase 1 - was officially unveiled today (December 16).
Officiating at the plaque unveiling ceremony, the Permanent Secretary for Housing and Transport (Housing), Mr Thomas Chan Chun-yuen, said, "Housing estates adopting the concepts of Universal Design (UD) can meet our tenants' needs in the living environment at different stages of their life, thus avoiding the upheavals of moving out of their home and the community that they are familiar as they age."
The Housing Authority began to gradually adopt UD principles in its new projects in 2002 with an objective to provide a barrier-free living environment that allows 'Aging in Place' and integrating people with different abilities into a harmonious community. SKM Estate Phase 1 is the first PRH estate that has adopted the UD concepts comprehensively in both the dwelling units and outdoor common areas.
In SKM Estate Phase 1, doorways and passageways inside dwelling units are of a minimum width of 75 cm in general, thresholds are lowered and bevelled to ensure easy access by wheelchairs or walking aids. Non-slip floor tiles, space for future grap bar installations, lever type sink/shower mixers and door handles are provided for the sake of home safety and convenient use for both children and the elderly. Moreover, larger buttons and switches are installed at a height within easy reach by people of different ages.
The Tactile Guide Path linking the residential blocks and the two main entrances of SKM Estate Phase 1 is by far the best equipped one among those in other PRH estates. It will be extended to connect with the nearby Shek Kip Mei MTR station and The Hong Kong Society for the Blind in the near future.
'Multi-sensory' maps of the Estate are attached to the two ends of the Tactile Guide Path to provide directory for people with or without visual disability. The visually impaired can touch the Braille annotation or listen to the voice message, while others can read the map for directions.
To ensure that the Path is user-friendly, various organizations for the visually impaired have been consulted thoroughly at various stages of design, material selection and installation. The Hong Kong Society for the Blind also uses the Path as a training ground for people with failing eyesight or who have lost their vision recently.
Other facilities in common areas adopting UD include easily operated self-closing doors and entrance gates, lifts with voice synthesizer, door-phones with Braille, letter boxes at lower level for wheelchair users, signs with big lettering and contrasting colour for the visually impaired people's easy discern.
SKM Estate Phase 1 comprises two public rental housing blocks providing about 2,000 units for a population of over 5,000. They were built on the cleared site of the older SKM Estate.
Ends/Sunday, December 16, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:18
NNNN
