DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY The newly opened ramp intended for persons with disabilities at the Edsa Busway’s Philam Station immediately drew flak on social media for its design, prompting an apology from the head of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Thursday. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday said it would deploy personnel to assist persons with disabilities (PWDs) who will have difficulty using the ramp connected to a footbridge on Edsa, a structure that had earned the agency a fresh round of bashing on social media for being too steep, especially for those in wheelchairs.
“We would like to inform (the public) that the MRT (Metro Rail Transit 3) has a height restriction that the MMDA complied with, so it was not possible to [construct] the elevator to the level of the footbridge,” the agency said in a statement on its Facebook page.
Pictures and videos of the ramp on the Edsa-Philam busway station, which was inaugurated on Monday, went viral after netizens, among them PWDs, noted how the ramp was proving to be unsafe for its intended users.
‘Not that steep’
One of the videos showed a man in a wheelchair trying to descend the ramp facing backward, holding on to the rails for control and requiring help from a companion.
The ramp connects the footbridge to an elevator, which PWDs can use to enter or leave the station.
READ: MMDA chief defends ramp design at Edsa busway station: It’s not wrong
“It’s not a perfect design, especially for those who are in a wheelchair but it’s a big help for senior citizens, pregnant women and other PWDs who don’t have to use the stairs,” the MMDA said.
The agency maintained that contrary to how the ramp appeared in the viral images, it is “not that steep” when one walks on it.
‘Limited space’
The ramp, the agency said, was put up in a “limited space’’ but without it “the elevator would not be integrated to the structure for the convenience of commuters.” In an interview with reporters at an event in Manila, MMDA acting Chair Romando Artes apologized for the inconvenience but parried criticism that the ramp’s design was ill-conceived.
“We consulted our architects and engineers at our traffic engineering center. This is really what we could do given the situation,” he said. “We really brainstormed so that we can put (the ramp) up despite the challenges.’’
“The only option was to put it up as it is—with the ramp a bit steep—or there will be no elevator at all and our countrymen will have to use the stairs. In a way, it was a very difficult decision on our part. We know that we will draw criticism for what we did, but again it’s not only those in wheelchairs who will use it.’’
“Based on our observation, there will be more users who are senior citizens, pregnant women and PWDs who don’t require a wheelchair,” he added.
Artes said the MMDA would consult an architectural firm for a possible solution.
In 2018, the MMDA drew flak for the elevated Edsa-Kamuning footbridge, which pedestrians also found too high and steep. The agency then defended its construction, saying it was intended to curb jaywalking.