Ensuring the "Blind" Experts Call for the Blind
It is urgent to formulate a barrier-free environment construction law
□ Our reporter Pu Xiaolei
□ Ling Yi, an intern of our newspaper
Li Fei (pseudonym) is a blind masseur at a massage shop for the blind in Chaoyang District, Beijing. He lives near the massage shop. Normal travel is basically a two-point line between home and shop.
“I don’t dare to go to other places. There are too many traffic around, and sometimes it’s not convenient to walk on the blind road. When I went out before, I was blocked by bicycles several times, and I couldn’t move it, and I didn’t dare to move the road next to it. It's too helpless." Li Fei said.
When investigating near the Sun Palace in Chaoyang District, Beijing, a reporter from the "Rules of Law Daily" found that the blind track was basically in place, but the items on the blind track were varied-shared bicycles, private cars, telephone poles, roadblocks, etc.
"The original intention of paved blind roads is indeed to provide convenience for the visually impaired. However, the unreasonable behavior and daily occupation of the road in the paved link have hindered the travel of the visually impaired. This problem shows that barrier-free The construction of the city still has a long way to go." said Liu Zhenjie, a researcher at the Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The phenomenon of blind tracks being occupied is not a new problem, nor is it unique to a certain place, but an old problem that is more common in many places.
Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China, said in an interview with a reporter from the Rule of Law Daily on May 14 that the Road Traffic Safety Law and other laws and regulations clearly stipulate the laying of blind tracks, but the daily supervision and management of blind tracks are not detailed enough. At the national level, we will promote relevant legislative amendments, further refine relevant regulations, and strengthen the implementation of barrier-free laws and policies.
It is worth noting that during this year’s National People’s Congress, the Shanghai delegation submitted for the first time a motion on accelerating the formulation of a barrier-free environment construction law in the name of the delegation, calling for a legal system to ensure the continuous, healthy and high-quality development of my country’s barrier-free environment construction to meet the needs of society. Members have an increasing urgent need for the construction of a barrier-free environment.
The more blind the blind, the less dare to go
In order to effectively solve the outstanding problems in the field of barrier-free environment construction such as blind roads, Beijing launched a special promotion action within the city two years ago.
In November 2019, the "Beijing City's Action Plan for Further Promoting the Construction of a Barrier-free Environment for 2019-2021" was issued. This is the first time that Beijing has launched a city-wide special promotion of barrier-free environment.
The action plan requires a comprehensive investigation of the setting of blind tracks and research on the norms of setting up blind tracks.
The restoration of the repair and the construction of the building ensure that the blind road help is "blind."
Intensify the daily supervision of the blind track, implement the work requirements for immediate handling of the case, and immediately stop the investigation and punishment of the occupation and damage of the blind track.
In January this year, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation issued a document stating that the 2020 municipal road barrier-free special treatment work in Beijing’s core urban areas and important venues has been fully completed, and a total of 1,060 blind sidewalks have been rectified.
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Transportation pointed out that in order to improve the continuity and leveling of the blind track and ensure that the road barrier-free facilities are safer and more comfortable, the urban maintenance center will further strengthen the control of the flatness of the blind track while meeting the relevant work norms and standards. The access path, connection form and layout style of obstacle facilities.
For example, in the past, blind tracks were always bypassed when they encountered obstacles. In this reconstruction process, for obstacles that do not affect traffic safety, blind tracks were deployed in a straight-through form to reduce bypassing.
After investigating in multiple areas, the reporter found that most blind tracks are blind tracks laid in a straight-through form, and the bypass situation has been greatly improved.
However, it is still common for blind tracks to be occupied.
Chen Mingsheng, a visually impaired person who lives in Fengtai District, Beijing, tripped on a bicycle blocking the blind road when he went out. After the fall, he was “bitten by a snake once and feared the rope for ten years”, and never dared ever since. Go out easily, "The blind track should have been the source of the sense of security for the visually impaired when going out, but now, the more the blind track the blind, the less dare to go."
Li Qingzhong, chairman of the China Association for the Blind, pointed out that the unreasonable construction and occupation of blind tracks are difficult to solve for a long time and are affected by many factors.
In recent years, cities have developed rapidly, but urban space is extremely limited. The overall urban planning and management level has not kept up with the speed of urban development, and the city still lacks clear management standards for the management of barrier-free facilities.
Legislation in many places refines relevant regulations
For the establishment and maintenance of blind tracks, laws and regulations such as the Law on the Protection of the Disabled and the Road Traffic Safety Law have made relevant provisions.
Article 53 of the Law on the Protection of Disabled Persons stipulates that the construction and transformation of barrier-free facilities shall meet the actual needs of disabled persons.
Newly built, rebuilt and expanded buildings, roads, transportation facilities, etc., shall comply with the relevant national barrier-free facility engineering construction standards.
People's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall, in accordance with the national barrier-free facility project construction regulations, gradually advance the renovation of established facilities, and give priority to the renovation of public service facilities that are closely related to the daily work and life of persons with disabilities.
The barrier-free facilities shall be repaired and protected in a timely manner.
The second paragraph of Article 34 of the Road Traffic Safety Law stipulates that the sidewalks of major urban roads shall be set up blind roads in accordance with the plan.
The setting of blind tracks should conform to national standards.
The Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-free Environments stipulate that pedestrian bridges and pedestrian underpasses in major roads, major commercial areas and large residential areas in cities shall be equipped with barrier-free facilities in accordance with barrier-free facilities engineering construction standards, and pedestrian traffic signal facilities shall be gradually improved. The barrier service function is adapted to the needs of the disabled and other members of society.
In addition, some localities have also issued relevant laws and regulations to further refine the regulations on the construction and management of barrier-free facilities.
The "Beijing Regulations on the Construction and Management of Barrier-Free Facilities" stipulate that blind roads shall be laid continuously. There shall be no telephone poles, cables, underground inspection wells, trees and other obstacles on the blind roads, and shall be connected to the surrounding public transportation stops, overpasses, underground passages, etc. The barrier-free facilities of public buildings are connected.
The "Blue Book on the Work for People with Disabilities: Research Report on the Work for People with Disabilities in China (2020～2021)" shows that during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, all localities have coordinated and promoted the construction of barrier-free environment in rural revitalization, new-type urbanization, and transformation of old communities. Provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have promulgated the implementation measures of the "Regulations on the Construction of Barrier-Free Environments."
"These laws and regulations have provided strong institutional guarantees for the smooth travel of blind people, but there are still areas to be improved. For example, the Law on the Protection of the Disabled and other laws and regulations have made mandatory provisions for the laying of blind tracks, but they are concerned with the occupation of blind tracks. However, there is a lack of relevant regulations, and the regulations on the responsibilities of government departments and penalties for illegal activities are not detailed enough." Liu Junhai said.
Legislation to clarify the responsibilities of functional departments
In January of this year, the prosecutors of the Yuzhong District Procuratorate in Chongqing learned that blind tracks in some areas were occupied very seriously during a daily visit.
Peng Hao, the case undertaker and deputy director of the Third Prosecutors Department of the Yuzhong District Procuratorate, said that most of the occupied blind roads are located in prosperous business districts with a large flow of people. Some blind roads have been built with guard booths, construction fences and guardrails. Some are occupied by parked cars, and others are filled with cargo boxes and other items, which makes it difficult for the visually impaired to travel. The problem cannot be ignored.
On February 7, after approval by the Fifth Branch of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Procuratorate, the Yuzhong District Procuratorate filed an investigation.
On March 1, the court issued a public interest litigation pre-litigation procuratorial proposal to relevant local authorities, urging them to perform their duties in accordance with the law, and strengthen the safety supervision and daily maintenance of the blind.
After receiving the procuratorial advice, the relevant departments attached great importance to it. After on-site investigation and evidence collection, special rectifications were quickly carried out, and the problem of the occupation of blind tracks and the problem of "broken roads" was quickly resolved.
The reporter noticed that the procuratorial organs in Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Liaoning, Shaanxi, Hubei and other places carried out public interest litigation actions against the problems of irregular laying of blind tracks and occupation, which had achieved very good results.
"The procuratorial organ’s work of'blind public interest litigation' is conducive to promoting relevant government departments to perform their duties in accordance with the law, promoting social governance, and better protecting the rights and interests of persons with disabilities. Regarding the successful experience in this approach, it is recommended that relevant legislation be promoted Summary." said Sun Yuhua, an associate professor at East China University of Political Science and Law.
Liu Junhai believes that to promote the legislative work of barrier-free environment construction at the national level, in addition to summarizing some mature practices, it is also necessary to adhere to a problem-oriented approach and improve the existing deficiencies in current laws and regulations.
"It is recommended to promote the legislative work of the Barrier-Free Environment Construction Law as soon as possible, to make systematic norms for the construction and maintenance of barrier-free facilities including blind tracks, and to further clarify the specific responsibilities of functional departments and social organizations in barrier-free construction. Promote my country's barrier-free environment construction and high-quality development to provide legal protection." Liu Junhai said.