Thursday, July 23, 2015

Inaccessible accessibility

A few years ago the City of Cape Town spent some money upgrading the area next to the Plumstead railway station. A new parking area, prettier paving, a raised pedestrian crossing.

Also, ramps up and down the sidewalk to get onto the crossing. In theory this is good, providing better access for the wheelchair-bound to the station. But then I noticed something:

Wheelchair ramp with a lamppost right in the middle of it.

Someone had planned the ramps, apparently without regard to where the lampposts were. And now we have a wheelchair ramp with a lamppost right in the middle of it. That money spent on the ramp seems wasted now. I wonder if anyone thought anything of it during the construction?