New park connector along Sungei Pandan to be ready by March 2025
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National Development Minister Desmond Lee (far right) and West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har (second from far right) viewing plans for Teban and Pandan Gardens with residents.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
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SINGAPORE – Residents of Teban and Pandan Gardens can look forward to a new park connector stretch along Sungei Pandan, and a new pedestrian bridge across the river along the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).
Slated to be completed by March 2025, the new bridge and park connector were among upcoming plans for the neighbourhoods that National Development Minister Desmond Lee shared with residents on June 30.
Speaking at a community event centred on eco-friendly practices at Ayer Rajah Community Club, Mr Lee said that the improvements will allow residents to complete a loop around a section of Sungei Pandan located between the AYE and Pandan Reservoir.
In the future, the park connector will be linked to the upcoming Old Jurong Line Nature Trail,
Plans displayed at the event showed that the new park connector will be about 570m long.
As for the bridge, Mr Lee said the National Parks Board is repurposing for pedestrian use what was previously a bridge lined with cables that runs along the AYE, linking Jurong East to West Coast.
Other plans presented to residents on June 30 included upcoming MRT stations on the Jurong Region Line and the future Cross Island Line, as well as the possibility of realigning the AYE.
Noting that then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had broached the possibility of the realignment at the National Day Rally in 2014, Mr Desmond Lee said that “agencies are currently studying various options, including how we can make it easier for residents to move between Teban Gardens and Jurong Lake District”.
More details will be announced when they are ready, he said.
Mr Lee said that with the upcoming Jurong Region Line – slated to be ready in 2028
He also mentioned the blocks selected for the Housing Board’s Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, plans for 13 parks in Singapore’s south-west.
Health coach Janson Lim, 49, a resident of Ayer Rajah for more than four decades, said he was excited by the extensions to the park connector network, where he goes cycling about once a week.
Park connectors are a space for him to unwind and relax, and where he can be more connected to nature through activities such as wildlife spotting, he added.
West Coast GRC MP Foo Mee Har, whose Ayer Rajah-Gek Poh ward includes Teban Gardens and Pandan Gardens, said residents have been forthcoming in giving feedback on the improvements they would like to see in the neighbourhoods.
Many of their suggestions have been implemented, she added.
She cited improvements to Pandan Reservoir, which she said was pitch dark at night more than a decade ago, but now has night lighting along the water’s edge.
Young people have also requested for cafes and rest stops to be added at the reservoir, she noted.
Pandan Gardens resident Reginal Satha said he hopes that opportunities for outdoor recreation will be improved, as his young family – which includes his daughters aged seven and eight – enjoy spending time in nature.
Mr Satha, 40, would like to see more camping areas in West Coast Park, and for more public barbecue pits to be built there.
Ms Elsie Nee, 64, a Teban Gardens resident, said that while she sees value in improving the neighbourhoods, she hopes that their relative peace and tranquillity will not be lost amid new developments.
