Motorcycles Parked On Wheelchair-Friendly Sidewalk Forces Man To Have To Wheel On The Road
"No one is bothering to get down or offer help."
By Wayne Garreth — 14 Sep 2022, 11:36 AM
A video has gone viral after it displayed a man in a wheelchair forced to use the road to get around shop lots as opposed to a designated walkway for people with disabilities (OKU)
The video was published to the Malaysian subreddit community, r/Malaysia, by user u/AboutHelpTools3. It is titled, "Maybe we should design our public spaces better, instead of giving near every outdoor inch to cars".
In the 10-second clip, the man in a wheelchair can be seen wheeling himself on the road at an undisclosed location. A car is seen trailing closely behind him throughout the clip, before it ends abruptly.
One person in the comments section managed to decipher that the video was taken at Jalan Megan, Setapak, and discovered another unsettling detail
The user noted that the sidewalk of the location has a wheelchair accessible lane, though suggested that it may be obstructed. They went on to attach a link to Google Maps in their comment with the precise coordinates of the location where the video was taken.
When scrolling through the sidewalk, it can be clearly denoted that there are indeed motorcycles parked throughout the lane meant to be used by wheelchair users and pedestrians.
Granted, while this does not mean that the motorcycles were there at the time this video was taken, it is not uncommon to see motorcycles parking on the walkway in front of shop lots in Malaysia.
Comments under the post continued to pour in, with the vast majority picking out multiple municipal issues that can be taken from the video
Many of the comments empathised with the wheelchair user for having to struggle while getting around the area.
Others condemned the driver for tailgating the wheelchair user, calling out their hostility, impatience, and not even offering to get down and help the man.
However, one of the comments also called out the development of the street, saying that even if the motorcycles were not blocking the pavement, the unstable ground would make it insurmountably difficult for those in wheelchairs to use.
"Any [two or three] on the same level? Any of the kerbs at the same elevation [throughout] the whole stretch? How about from the road surface to the floor of the individual units?" asked a netizen.
Another commenter seemingly added to this, saying that people in wheelchairs need flat ground to cross on, and that the motorcyclists can move their bikes.
