Shenzhen Government Online
The Regulations of Shenzhen on the Construction of Barrier-free Environment
From: Justice Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality
Updated: 2019-12-31 15:12

(Adopted at the 33rd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 4th Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress on September 24, 2019 Approved at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th People's Congress of Guangdong Province on November 26, 2009 Adopted at the 33rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 6th Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress on April 24, 2019 and revised in accordance with Decision on Amending Thirteen Regulations Including the Rules on the Formulation of Regulations of Shenzhen Municipality adopted at the 13th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th People's Congress of Guangdong Province on July 25, 2019)

Chapter One General Rules

Article 1 The Regulations of Shenzhen Municipality on the Construction of Barrier-free Environments (“the Regulations”) are hereby formulated in accordance with Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Disabled Persons and the relevant laws and regulations and in light of the actual circumstances of Shenzhen Municipality. It aims to strengthen the construction of barrier-free environments, protect the rights of disabled persons and other persons in need to share an equal social life, and promote the progress of social civilization.

Article 2 The Regulations herein shall apply to the construction of barrier-free environments within the administrative areas of Shenzhen Municipality.

The barrier-free environments herein refer to the physical environment and information exchange environment that guarantee disabled persons and other people in need to participate in social life independently, safely and conveniently.

Article 3 The construction of barrier-free environments shall be the common responsibility of the whole society.

State authorities, social organizations, enterprises and public institutions shall, in accordance with their respective duties, carry out the work of the construction of barrier-free environments in a favorable manner in accordance with law.

Article 4 The construction of barrier-free environment shall conform to the actual needs of disabled persons and other people in need, coordinate to meet the basic needs of the public, and apply to the level of economic and social development of Shenzhen Municipality.

Article 5 Shenzhen Municipal People's Government shall exercise unified leadership over the construction of barrier-free environments of Shenzhen Municipality.

Departments including Urban Planning and Natural Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Ecology and Environment Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Housing and Construction Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Culture, Broadcasting, Tourism and Sports Administration of Shenzhen Municipality, Government Service and Data Management Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality shall be responsible for the construction of barrier-free environments in accordance with their respective responsibilities.

The people's governments of various districts and their relevant departments shall be responsible for the construction of barrier-free environments in accordance with their respective responsibilities.

Article 6 A joint conference system for the construction of barrier-free environments shall be established to coordinate the construction.

The joint conference shall consist of departments and organizations, including the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Industry and Information Technology Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Finance Commission of Shenzhen Municipality the Urban Planning and Natural Resources Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Ecology and Environment Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, the Education Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, the Public Security Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, the Civil Affairs Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, the Culture, Broadcasting, Tourism and Sports Administration of Shenzhen Municipality, the Housing and Construction Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, , the Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, the Disabled Persons' Federation of Shenzhen Municipality (hereinafter referred to as the Disabled Persons' Federation), the Aging Working Committee of Shenzhen Municipality and the]Women's Federation of Shenzhen Municipality.

The joint conference shall be convened by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and shall be held at least once a year.

Article 7 The Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, district people's governments and their relevant departments shall seek for opinions from disabled persons and other persons in need when formulating plans and policies for the construction of barrier-free environments.

Article 8 The Shenzhen Municipal People's Government shall formulate specific measures and encourage research and development of technologies and products available for disabled persons.

Article 9 The Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and district people's governments shall recognize and reward institutions and individuals making outstanding contributions to the construction of barrier-free environments.

Chapter Two Planning

Article 10 The Shenzhen Municipal People's Government shall organize the formulation of the construction development plan of barrier-free environments and incorporate it into the national economic and social development plan.

The construction development plan of barrier-free environments shall include the construction and renovation of barrier-free facilities, the construction of public transportation, the construction of information exchange, and publicity and education.

The relevant departments shall, in accordance with the corresponding requirements, prepare the special plan for the construction development plan of barrier-free environments (“the special plan”), and organize and implement the plan upon approval in accordance with the regulations.

Article 11 The Shenzhen Municipal People's Government shall organize at least one assessment on the implementation of the construction development plan of the barrier-free environments every five years. All relevant departments and institutions shall report the implementation progress to the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government every year.

The implementation assessment report and the annual implementation report shall be made to the public.

Article 12 The Shenzhen Municipal People's Government and its relevant departments shall timely adjust and revise the construction development plan and special plan of barrier-free environments in accordance with the needs of the economic and social development and development of barrier-free environments.

Article 13 Each district people's government shall, in accordance with the requirements of the construction development plan and the special plan of barrier-free environments, organize the formulation of the implementation plan for it within its administrative region.

Chapter Three Construction and Management of Facilities

Article 14 The barrier-free facilities shall be contained in the projects of new construction, renovation and expansion in accordance with the national construction standards of barrier-free facilities, shall be designed, constructed and delivered together with the construction projects, and shall be connected with the existing barrier-free facilities around the construction projects.

Article 15 The design documents of the construction projects shall be reviewed by the relevant institutions. If the construction projects concerned fail to contain the barrier-free design in accordance with the national construction standards for barrier-free facilities, the construction projects concerned shall not be approved, and the construction project planning permit shall not be issued.

Article 16 When the Urban Planning and Natural Resources Committee of Shenzhen Municipality verifies the planning conditions, the project that fails to construct the barrier-free facilities in accordance with the construction project planning permit shall not be accepted for the planning.

For projects of new construction, renovation and expansion, the entities in charge of the construction project shall check and accept the barrier-free facilities at the same time when the construction projects are under completion acceptance; the entities in charge of the construction projects shall not accept the completion of the construction projects if barrier-free facilities fail to be in accordance with the approved design documents and construction technical standards.

Article 17 When projects of new construction, renovation and expansion as follows are under completion acceptance, the entities in charge of the construction projects shall invite the Disabled Persons' Federation to participate in so as to seek for opinions from disabled persons; if the construction projects fail to meet the national standards for construction of barrier-free facilities, the entities in charge of the construction projects shall not accept the completion of the construction projects concerned, and the Housing and Construction Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality shall not go through the formalities for filing:

(1) roads and transportation hubs such as airports, stations, passenger terminals and ports;

(2) entertainment and education places such as schools, hospitals, stadiums, libraries, museums and theaters;

(3) offices of state authorities and institutions;

(4) public places such as tourist attractions, parks and public lavatories.

Other barrier-free facilities that are closely related to the daily life and work of disabled persons shall be notified to the Disabled Persons' Federation when the projects are under completion acceptance, and Disabled Persons' Federation may assign a representative of disabled persons to try and put forward opinions and advice on the construction of barrier-free facilities.

Article 18 If roads, buildings and residential areas invested by the governments and completed before the implementation of the Regulations herein fail to meet the mandatory standards for the construction of barrier-free facilities, the property owners or administrators shall carry out renovation in accordance with the special plan, mandatory standards and other relevant regulations for the construction of barrier-free environments. The specific measures shall be formulated separately by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government.

Article 19 If construction projects invested by non-government entities and completed before the implementation of the Regulations herein fail to meet the mandatory standards for the construction of barrier-free facilities, the property owners shall be encouraged to carry out the renovation in accordance with the mandatory standards for the construction of barrier-free facilities. The specific incentives shall be formulated separately by Shenzhen Municipal People's Government.

Article 20 If the completed residential areas fail to meet the national standards for the construction of barrier-free facilities, the disabled persons may, in accordance with the needs of mobility, on the condition of not damaging the function of the building and not obstructing the normal use of others, carry out necessary and reasonable renovation of the public places in the residential area where they live after going through all procedures. The owners committee and the property management institutions shall cooperate with the renovation.

Article 21 New construction, renovation and expansion of bicycle lanes and sidewalks shall be provided with barrier-free facilities in accordance with regulations.

The pedestrian overpass and pedestrian tunnels in major trunk roads, major commercial areas and large residential areas shall be provided with barrier-free facilities in accordance with regulations.

Article 22 The sidewalk traffic lights in main trunk roads, and commercial areas shall be equipped with the sound reminder for crossing the street.

Article 23 Property owners or administrators of barrier-free facilities shall be responsible for the maintenance and management and shall ensure the normal use.

Article 24 No organization or individual may damage or encroach on or change the use of barrier-free facilities.

If the barrier-free facilities are required to be temporarily occupied due to urban construction or major social welfare activities, the occupation shall be approved by the relevant departments in accordance with the regulations, or agreed by the owners and administrators. Guardrails, warning signs or signal facilities shall be set up and necessary alternatives shall be adopted.

Upon expiration of the temporary occupation, the former condition of the barrier-free facilities shall be restored in a timely manner.

Article 25 Renovation and expansion of roads or establishment of intersections shall not cut off the connection of barrier-free facilities between sidewalks and non-motor vehicle lanes.

Chapter Four Public Transport

Article 26 The rail transits shall build barrier-free facilities that conform to the national standards and are suitable for all kinds of disabled persons.

The barrier-free entrances and exits for subway stations in large residential areas and major commercial areas shall be equipped with barrier-free elevators.

Article 27 Operators of buses and taxis shall allocate a certain number of barrier-free vehicles for wheelchair-bound passengers. The specific measures shall be formulated separately by the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government.

Barrier-free facilities with the required standards shall be built in bus stops of barrier-free vehicles.

Article 28 Transportation hubs like airports, stations, passenger terminals and ports shall be equipped with electronic screens for the release of public information, and staffs to provide guidance, counseling services or other necessary assistance for disabled persons.

Article 29 Rail transit and buses shall be equipped with voice and subtitles reporting systems for each station.

The buses shall be gradually provided with reminder devices for identifying the vehicle line for the visually impaired persons in the waiting room.

Article 30 Disabled Persons' Federation may allocate barrier-free rehabilitation buses specially designed for disabled persons to commute according to their rehabilitation needs.

Article 31 The following parking lots shall provide qualified parking spaces for disabled persons in places convenient for them, the special parking lots shall be used by disabled persons for driving or riding, and an obvious sign in the special parking space shall be set:

(1) parking lots for the offices of state authorities and institutions;

(2) public parking lots with over 65 parking spaces;

(3) parking lots for large shopping malls, hospitals of Grade II or above and hotels of three-star level or above.

If the parking lots prescribed in the preceding paragraph have been completed before the implementation of the Regulations with no parking space set for disabled persons, the parking spaces for disabled persons shall be completed within three months from the date of implementation of the Regulations herein.

Article 32 Vehicles occupying parking spaces for disabled persons shall place special signs or certificates of disabled persons in an obvious position. The administrators shall have the right to check the certificates of disabled persons of the driver or the passenger.

Vehicles that fail to meet the conditions shall not occupy a parking space for disabled persons.

Article 33 Visually impaired persons may bring guide dogs into public places and take public transportation in accordance with regulations, and no organization or individual may stop them.

Chapter Five Information Exchange

Article 34 Disabled persons shall have the right to access to government information and other public information without barriers.

Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, district people's governments and relevant departments shall take measures to facilitate disabled persons to access to public information.

Article 35 State authorities shall compile the following important government information into a Braille version or a sound version and provide to public libraries in the Shenzhen Municipality or districts for visually impaired persons to read, which includes:

(1) annual work report of the standing committee of the people's congress, the people's government, the people's court and the people's procuratorate at the corresponding level;

(2) national economic and social development planning and annual plans at the corresponding level;

(3) important data in the annual statistical bulletin of the statistical department;

(4) laws and regulations, rules and regulatory documents closely related to the rights and interests of disabled persons.

Article 36 State authorities and social organizations shall provide a sign language interpreter or subtitles when organizing large conferences and events involving persons with hearing impairment.

Article 37 ATV stations shall provide subtitles or a sign language interpreter when broadcasting a special program.

Article 38 The websites of state authorities, institutions and management departments of public utilities shall be gradually promoted to provide relevant information for visually impaired persons in accordance with the requirements of barrier-free environments.

Article 39 The public libraries of Shenzhen Municipality and its districts shall set up reading rooms for the visually impaired persons for their convenience to read books and use the Internet.

Article 40 Emergency call systems of fire alarm, police, medical emergency, traffic accidents, etc. shall be equipped with text information alarm and call functions to ensure the access to emergency report of persons with hearing and speech impairments.

Article 41 The relevant departments and examination organizers of the Shenzhen Municipality and its districts shall provide convenience for disabled persons to participate in various types of entrance examinations, vocational qualification examinations and examinations held by the state, the province and the municipality. If a visually impaired person participates in any examination mentioned above, he or she shall be provided with Braille papers or electronic papers, or assisted by a specialized staff.

Article 42 State authorities and social organizations as well as neighborhood committees and owner committees of the residential area shall facilitate the participation of disabled persons in elections and provide Braille voter slips for visually impaired persons as needed.

Article 43 When state authorities, public institutions, and financial institutions and other organizations who provide public services deal with the related affairs for the hearing and speech impaired persons, they shall be equipped with a sign language interpreter or other services that facilitate the communication.

Article 44 Large tourist attractions shall designate staff to provide guidance, counseling services or other necessary assistance for disabled persons.

Article 45 Public places with barrier-free facilities or services shall be provided with a barrier-free sign in accordance with national standards in an obvious position.

The barrier-free sign shall be standardized, clear and obvious.

Chapter Six Publicity, Education and Supervision

Article 46 Every December 3 shall be the awareness day for the barrier-free environment of the Shenzhen Municipality.

Article 47 The Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, district people's governments and relevant departments shall adopt various methods to promote the construction of barrier-free environments and the related information.

Article 48 Broadcasting stations, TV stations, newspapers and periodicals shall arrange publicity campaigns for the construction of barrier-free environment in a certain period of time or in form of layout in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 49 Organizations for disabled persons shall regularly carry out publicity campaigns and education activities on the construction of barrier-free environments, and shall provide necessary guidance and assistance for relevant institutions and individuals to learn about barrier-free environments and organize relevant skills training.

Article 50 State authorities, institutions, financial institutions, hospitals, shopping malls, hotels, etc. which provide public services shall offer training on the knowledge of barrier-free environments and necessary skills for relevant personnel.

Article 51 The Disabled Persons' Federation may organize investigation and evaluation on the construction of the barrier-free environments in the Shenzhen Municipality, and may release the investigation and evaluation report to the public. Relevant institutions and individuals shall support the work.

The Disabled Persons' Federation may put forward opinions and suggestions to relevant departments in accordance with the results of the investigation and evaluation. Relevant departments shall seriously study the opinions and suggestions, carry out measures based on the opinions and suggestions, and reply to the Disabled Parsons’ Federation in writing.

Article 52 The Disabled Persons' Federation, the Aging Working Committee, the Women's Federation and other relevant organizations may employ volunteer supervisors for the supervision of the construction of barrier-free environments.

Article 53 Any organization or individual may put forward opinions and suggestions to the relevant departments on the construction of barrier-free environments; if there are problems, they may complain to the relevant departments; after receiving the complaints, the relevant departments shall promptly handle and deal with the problems, and shall inform the complainant of the result.

Article 54 Where any organization or individual violates the Regulations, the Disabled Persons' Federation shall have the right to request the relevant organizations and individuals to rectify and inform the relevant departments of the violation. The relevant departments shall inform the Disabled Persons' Federation of the results.

Chapter Seven Legal Liability

Article 55 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Articles 24 and 25 herein by damaging or encroaching on the barrier-free facilities of municipal roads and parks, changing the use or damaging the connection of barrier-free facilities between sidewalks and non-motor vehicle lanes, the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality and the Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality shall, within the scope of their respective duties, order a correction within a time limit, and impose a penalty of not less than 2, 000 Yuan but not more than 5, 000 Yuan; where the individual or the organization concerned fails to make corrections within the time limit or the serious circumstances, the individual or organization concerned shall be imposed a penalty of not less than 5,000 Yuan but no more than 20,000 Yuan; where the violation constitutes a crime, the individual or the organization concerned shall be investigated with criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Article 56 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Articles 26, Article 27 and Item (1) of the Article 29 herein by failing to build barrier-free facilities, allocate barrier-free vehicles and voice and subtitles reporting systems, the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality shall order the individual or the organization concerned to make corrections within a time limit; where the individual or the organization concerned fails to make corrections within the time limit, the individual or the organization concerned shall be imposed a penalty of not less than 5,000 Yuan but not more than 30,000 Yuan.

Article 57 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Article 28 herein by failing to build an electronic screen for publishing public information and to provide necessary assistance, the Transport Commission of Shenzhen Municipality shall order the individual or the organization concerned to make corrections within a time limit; Where the individual or the organization concerned fails to make corrections within the time limit, the individual or the organization concerned shall be imposed a penalty of 5,000 Yuan.

Article 58 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Article 31 herein by failing to set up parking spaces for disabled persons, the Municipal Public Security Traffic Management Department shall order the individual or organization concerned to make corrections within a time limit; where the individual or the organization concerned fails to make correction within the time limit, the individual or the organization concerned shall be imposed a penalty of 100 Yuan for each overdue day.

Article 59 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of the Item (2) of Article 32 herein by occupying parking spaces for disabled persons, the traffic management department of Public Security Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality shall impose a penalty of 500 Yuan on the individual or the organization concerned ; where the parking lots administration entity fails to stop the behavior, the traffic management department of Public Security Traffic Management Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality shall impose a penalty of 500 Yuan on the parking lots administration entity concerned.

Article 60 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Article 37 herein by failing to provide subtitles or sign language interpreters, the Culture, Broadcasting, Tourism and Sports Administration of Shenzhen Municipality shall order the individual or organization concerned to make corrections within a time limit, and shall investigate the responsibility of the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel.

Article 61 For any individual or organization violating the provisions of Article 39 herein by failing to provide reading rooms for the visually impaired persons, the Culture, Broadcasting, Tourism and Sports Administration of Shenzhen Municipality shall order the individual or organization concerned to make corrections within a time limit, and shall investigate the responsibility of the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel.

Article 62 Where relevant departments and the personnel violate the provisions herein and fail to perform their statutory duties or abuse their powers, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be investigated with administrative responsibilities in accordance with the law; where the violation concerned constitutes a crime, the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be investigated with criminal responsibility in accordance with the law.

Chapter Eight Supplementary Provisions

Article 63 For any penalty set herein, the competent department of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government shall formulate specific penalty measures and implement the measures simultaneously with the Regulations.

Article 64 The Regulations herein shall come into effect on March 1, 2010.

 

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