Forum: Put up better signs to guide patrons to hawker centres

I am so happy that Singapore’s hawker culture is inscribed on the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list (Refreshing S’pore’s hawker scene, Jan 8). It speaks of the huge effort made by everyone, especially hawkers.

When I retired two years ago, I took the opportunity to visit all the hawker centres – 117 then – in Singapore. It was a great experience to see the vibrancy of our food scene.

Besides the food, I also wanted to assess the ease of locating our hawker centres.

While most of them are conveniently located along main roads, some were hard to find, as they are in the heartland. Signs that show the way are not displayed consistently. Over time, some of the signs have become obscured by trees and shrubbery.

This situation could be improved.

For a start, perhaps the Singapore Tourism Board could design a type of signboard for our hawker centres that denotes their Unesco status, like the signboards used for tourist attractions.

Good directional signs, like those used for schools and prominent landmarks, should be installed to guide patrons to the hawker centres.

This would help to enhance the image of our treasured hawker centres in the eyes of the world.

Philip Bay Lee Meng