Jalan Mas Puteh parking: Wardens do spot checks

Six Months Later is a monthly series that looks back at people, events and issues that were in the news half a year ago. This series appears on the last Monday of every month.

A traffic warden checking parking on Jalan Mas Puteh. Previously, residents clamped the wheels of illegally-parked vehicles there, but now the road has been converted to public land and wardens patrol the area regularly.
A traffic warden checking parking on Jalan Mas Puteh. Previously, residents clamped the wheels of illegally-parked vehicles there, but now the road has been converted to public land and wardens patrol the area regularly. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM

Traffic wardens are now patrolling Jalan Mas Puteh in Clementi after residents there were told to stop clamping the wheels of vehicles parked illegally in front of their homes.

Six months ago, The Straits Times reported that residents had put up signs warning drivers to steer clear and had begun clamping the wheels of illegally-parked vehicles.

The situation came to a head after an irate driver wrote on citizen journalism website Stomp that he had been forced to pay a $500 release fee to remove the clamp from his car.

At the time, residents claimed they were in the right because the road that runs in front of all eight terraced units is private property, which they are responsible for maintaining.

While this is true, ownership of the road does not rest with the residents. Singapore Land Authority (SLA) records showed that the road's owner was a firm called Right Traders - which has since ceased operations.

Checks with the SLA-maintained Onemap.sg website show that the road is now marked state land under the jurisdiction of the Land Transport Authority.

A resident who wanted to be only known as Roger said the homeowners had met West Coast GRC MP S. Iswaran and other grassroots representatives in November.

"They told us the road was a public area," he said. "We were given one to two weeks to remove the signs we put up."

Mrs Lim, another resident, said that a traffic warden is there "almost every day" to check on the parking situation. He comes every two hours on average, she said, and leaves at about 6pm.

However, it seems that illegal parking along the service road has not stopped entirely.

Roger said that there have been about six cases since December, especially in the evening after the wardens have left. The homeowners believe the trespassers are customers of nearby eateries.

"The situation is not really better," he said. "It works only when the warden is there."

linettel@sph.com.sg

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