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The new R1.6 billion Hemingways Mall, scheduled to open by the end of next month, will be one of the most disability-friendly facilities of its kind in the country. This comes after the National Council for Persons with Disabilities of South Africa (NCPPDSA) and the project architects discussed how to make the mall user-friendly for people with disabilities.
Vice-chairperson of NCPPDSA, Dion Rademeyer (pictured), a wheelchair user himself who went on a tour of the mall yesterday, said he was happy that Hemingways had met all the standards in ensuring it catered for people with disabilities.
“We are impressed by the vision of the mall management, which includes full participation by persons with disabilities, and their consultative approach with us,” said Rademeyer.
The mall has wheelchair-accessible parking, walkways and bathrooms, with the correct gradients for ramps.
It also caters for blind people by allowing them to enter the mall with guide dogs.
A braille system will also be introduced in all lifts to ensure that blind shoppers are able to use them, and mall staff will also be trained to help people with disabilities.
Hemingways Mall marketing manager Gerna van Rooyen said the mall was intended for the entire community, and that included people with disabilities.
“The NCPPDSA and our project architects will continue meeting for further ideas for maximum independence for persons with disabilities,” said Van Rooyen.
The mall, which will be the biggest single mall in the Eastern Cape, will be home to more than 220 shops and restaurants when it opens on September 24.
Meanwhile, the Two Rivers Road that leads to Dorchester Heights and runs “under” the new mall and casino has been completed. It is expected to be opened for motorists this week.
Beth Haller, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment (www.gadim.org). A former print journalist, she is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Center on Disability and Journalism (https://ncdj.org/). Haller is Professor Emerita in the Department of Mass Communication at Towson University in Maryland, USA. Haller is co-editor of the 2020 "Routledge Companion to Disability and Media" (with Gerard Goggin of University of Sydney & Katie Ellis of Curtin University, Australia). She is author of "Representing Disability in an Ableist World: Essays on Mass Media" (Advocado Press, 2010) and the author/editor of Byline of Hope: Collected Newspaper and Magazine Writing of Helen Keller (Advocado Press, 2015). She has been researching disability representation in mass media for 30+ years. She is adjunct faculty in the Disability Studies programs at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Texas-Arlington.
From The Dispatch in South Africa:
