Tiles on Walkways

[ecureilx]

and you guys never knew that the tiles are placed in rainy Singapore, to entertain the locals .. like when I was working in China town, on weekends, my employer, a Travel Agent, used to watch the pavement outside her business, as the one before and after hers is at different levels, it is quite common to see tourists stumbling when the floor is suddenly lower or trip when the floor is higher ..

So are the slippery tiles placed .. so the foreigners will be slipping and sliding .. and making the locals laugh out Loud ..

Moral of the story "WATCH WHERE YOU LAND YOUR FEET"

[JayCee]

I'm not sure that local woman I saw go arse over tit the other day was laughing at too many foreigners when she did it

[ksl]

SO who has seen the trees that have priority on the pavement? Really makes me laugh, that i have to step onto the main road, becuase of a line of trees, that are smack in the middle of the pathway. I give up!

Mind you Taiwan is just as bad! With telegraph poles! All mothers must push prams onto the road to avoid the poles and the kerb stones are that high you need an escalator Oh well makes us appreciate the finer things in life!

[ecureilx]

I'm not sure that local woman I saw go arse over tit the other day was laughing at too many foreigners when she did it

What over what ??

Ah .. another quirk in Singapore .. if and when a woman topples over, God forbid you are near her .. as .. 99% of the time, I have seen them turn to the guy / girl next to 'em and bare their fangs as if the latter was the cause of the their misery ..

Like once, when a woman's stilleto heels got caught in the gap on the walkway, and me being next to her, she decided it was my fault .. and only when I started to laught and she realised that her foot was still caught .. did she decide to act as if that was normal ..

[nakatago]

Hmmm...Singapore, HK, Taiwan...am I the only one seeing a pattern here?

[Strong Eagle]

Hmmm...Singapore, HK, Taiwan...am I the only one seeing a pattern here?

If you want really messed up walkways and sidewalks, nothing comes close to KL.

Unless, of course, you're talking about Houston where vast swaths of neighborhoods have no sidewalks at all, as everyone drives and nobody walks.

[ecureilx]

Hmmm...Singapore, HK, Taiwan...am I the only one seeing a pattern here?

If you want really messed up walkways and sidewalks, nothing comes close to KL.

you are right .. in KL, even when you walk on flat ground watch out .. the grating over drains are just a moment away from collapsing ..

An Asian Miracle .. you see it now, you don't see it now ..

[nakatago]

Hmmm...Singapore, HK, Taiwan...am I the only one seeing a pattern here?

If you want really messed up walkways and sidewalks, nothing comes close to KL.

Unless, of course, you're talking about Houston where vast swaths of neighborhoods have no sidewalks at all, as everyone drives and nobody walks.

I was referring to the tiled walkways.

FWIW, sidewalks are optional back home. And when they're there, something's in the way, there's a hole or just generally rendered useless.

But at least we don't use tiles.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I used to live just down the hill a bit from where SE is living now. I was lucky in it was a semi-detached house with a patch of grass in the front about the size of a postage stamp. Had a nice sloping driveway up to the carport, all covered with tile. I've damn near broken my butt/back several times going down that thing after a shower to open the gate. I often wondered what kept the car from sliding backwards into/through the gate.

[ScoobyDoes]

I often wondered what kept the car from sliding backwards into/through the gate.

The dry bit under the tyre itself where it's in contact with the ground and where the rain couldn't reach.

There you go..... another problem solved just in time for the weekend.

[nakatago]

Ok, I just saw a tiled staircase! And it's on an HDB estate where old people are likely to pass through!

[boffenl]

Yep, our HDB neighbor just did an extensive renovation and covered the front steps in nice white (slippery) marble. Sheesh--form over function.

[boffenl]

From the ST today, p. A7:

Paralysed resident sues town council over walkway mishap

Sembawang resident was walking back to his flat on a wet evening in August 2008 when he took a timble on a sloping ramp near his block. He fractured his spine and became paralysed from the neck down.

This is certainly a test case--maybe change will happen now like it does in the US--make the Town Council's lose money and things will change.

[ecureilx]

From the ST today, p. A7:

Paralysed resident sues town council over walkway mishap

Sembawang resident was walking back to his flat on a wet evening in August 2008 when he took a timble on a sloping ramp near his block. He fractured his spine and became paralysed from the neck down.

This is certainly a test case--maybe change will happen now like it does in the US--make the Town Council's lose money and things will change.

Timble or Tumble ??

Well, the simple solution is .. stick the 'anti-skid' matt finish surfacing on the end of the stairs / path .. but, if at the ramp, still they can be 'striped' .. and a good 3M patch can last quite long ..

On the same subject, when the MRT was made friendly for physically challenged, I am not kidding, those bumpy areas resembling a walkway was apparently made to help visually handicapped .. and a lot of visually handicapped did say they get confused, not to mention the majority of the handicapped in Singapore who are on Wheelchair having a difficult time negotiating the obstacle course ..

[nakatago]

From the ST today, p. A7:

Paralysed resident sues town council over walkway mishap

Sembawang resident was walking back to his flat on a wet evening in August 2008 when he took a timble on a sloping ramp near his block. He fractured his spine and became paralysed from the neck down.

This is certainly a test case--maybe change will happen now like it does in the US--make the Town Council's lose money and things will change.

Timble or Tumble ??

Well, the simple solution is .. stick the 'anti-skid' matt finish surfacing on the end of the stairs / path .. but, if at the ramp, still they can be 'striped' .. and a good 3M patch can last quite long ..

On the same subject, when the MRT was made friendly for physically challenged, I am not kidding, those bumpy areas resembling a walkway was apparently made to help visually handicapped .. and a lot of visually handicapped did say they get confused, not to mention the majority of the handicapped in Singapore who are on Wheelchair having a difficult time negotiating the obstacle course ..

The problem is, the tiled staircase I saw was in a common area and is most probably under that estate's management.