Convenience of use must be core of public designs

PHOTOS SHOWING 3.48-meter high bus stop boards in Jianyang, Southwest China’s Sichuan province, went viral online recently. Even Yao Ming, the 2.26-meter tall basketball player, may not be able to clearly see the small characters listing the names of more than 30 stops, which are crowded in an area just 40 centimeters wide.

The ridiculous designs of public facilities exposed by netizens across the country highlights the necessity for the authorities to establish a workable mechanism to ensure every cent of public funds on public infrastructure is well spent for the convenience of users. China Youth Daily comments:

There is no lack of designs that show no consideration to the end user. For example, the leg space between seats on some buses in many cities is so narrow that only youngsters can comfortably rest their legs. The distance between two supposedly “seamless” transfer subway stations can be a “long march” for users, and particularly challenging for the elderly and disabled passengers.

If they had tried out the designs in person, the officials in charge of approving these projects would not have let them pass.

The purpose of public infrastructure is to make life easier for people. If people cannot use the facilities or it is challenging for them to do so, the money spent has been wasted and the officials have failed in their duties to serve the people.

To curb such ill-conceived designs, engineering professionals should act as the technical gatekeepers and project supervisors, and the bidding for public projects must be fair and transparent so the most practical design wins.

Standards already exist for such things as bus stop boards and the legroom in buses, and these must be adhered to.

It is only when all the parties involved, the officials, enterprises and project supervisors, all fail to play their due roles at the same time, for whatever reason, that designs which should never have left the drawing board become part of the people’s lives.