When we moved to our new neighbourhood,
Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, we were puzzled to see a very significant
amount of blind people here. These weren't the destitute poor and
blind people from “Slumdog Millionaire”. These are seemingly
happy, healthy people going on about their lives with the exception
that they were blind.
It turns out that Brickfields is home
to the headquarters of the Malaysian Association for the Blind.
Brickfields also employs these tactile
guided pathways extensively.
The raised lines guide you along the
sidewalk avoiding obstacles and the edge. Some walk on them and some
just use their cane to follow them.
And the dot like bumps tell you when to
stop! The stop lights uses audio signals to let them know when to
cross (like many other places in the world).
These guided pathways can been found
throughout Kuala Lumpur (well done Malaysia!) but they don't seem to
be as complete/extensive as they are in Brickfields.
Sometimes you will see the blind hold
on to each others shoulders, no it's not the blind leading the blind,
it appears as though it's just so they can travel together easily as
a small group and chat just like everyone else. It's truly
heartwarming to see this kind of support for them. You will find many of the locals more than willing to lend a helping hand as well! What a great neighborhood!
Brickfields is also next to the major train station here (KL Sentral) so it's great for access to anywhere in KL! The street food is amazing too!
-Jason
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