Does Plaza Indonesia Have Sufficient Accessibility Infrastructure?

After opening in 1990, Plaza Indonesia stands as a popular and massive shopping centre in Central Jakarta on Jalan M.H. Thamrin. The shopping centre is part of the Plaza Indonesia Complex, a mixed development centre. Boasting 7 floors, including a basement level, filled with various goods and services and 5 underground parking levels, the mall should also have sufficient infrastructure that ensures these levels are accessible to all. While I did find various examples of accessible infrastructure, I found that the mall had areas in need of improvement.

Accessibility Features of Plaza Indonesia

Plaza Indonesia’s features mostly seem to target people who have handicaps relating to physical mobility. Entrances to the mall either feature automatic sliding doors or a doorman who greets incoming shoppers and facilitates their entry. The mall’s parking lots give priority spaces that are close to entrances to the handicapped. Elevators and flat escalators are available for wheelchair users, so they can access all floors.

Every bathroom has a separate, smaller restroom designated for handicapped users, marked with a handicap sign on the door. These restrooms are equipped with support bars and accessible sinks to accommodate anyone with mobility impairments. Signs are written in both Indonesian and English to ensure that both local Indonesians and international visitors can navigate easily. Additionally, customer service desks are available to assist those in need.

Areas for Improvement

There are, however, areas where accessibility could be improved, such as the mall’s complete lack of tactile paving and limited braille usage. Those with visual impairments would encounter great difficulty if they were to explore the mall on their own. Also, though most major entrances are accessible, the parking garage levels have some access points that lack elevators or flat escalators, and there is a lack of sufficient wayfinding signage that directs towards more accessible entry points.

What Can Be Done?

Plaza Indonesia must install tactile pavings and more braille signage in effective locations, such as entrances, elevators, escalators, bathrooms, and musallas. This would significantly improve accessibility for the visually impaired. Furthermore, elevator placement could be optimized throughout the mall to boost accessibility for those with mobility handicaps. Finally, more wayfinding signage should be implemented in the parking levels of the mall so that finding the mall’s entry points becomes much easier for all mall shoppers and visitors.

Summary

Plaza Indonesia has nearly sufficient infrastructure to accommodate people with mobile handicaps yet almost entirely lacks infrastructure that accommodates the visually impaired. If the shopping centre addresses these shortcomings, it would significantly promote its inclusivity. This way, Plaza Indonesia can continue to be a prime shopping destination for all.