First Car-Free Weekend to kick off on Friday

Singapore's first Car-Free Weekend event will start on Oct 26, 2018, with the closure of Telok Ayer Street and Amoy Street between 11am and 3pm. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK/CAR-FREE SUNDAY SG

SINGAPORE - The Car-Free Sunday event will stretch over three days in October, to allow more to experience going car-free in the city as part of Singapore's first Car-Free Weekend event.

Last held in July, Car-Free Sunday is usually held on the last Sunday of the month. This month, the event will start on Friday (Oct 26) with the closure of Telok Ayer Street and Amoy Street between 11am and 3pm.

Urban Redevelopment Authority chief executive officer Lim Eng Hwee said: "With the support from our network of partners, we have a full line-up of very interesting programmes over three days, transforming the streets and public spaces in the Civic District and Telok Ayer Conservation Area into vibrant activity hubs."

On Friday, there will be guided tours of Thian Hock Keng Temple, while the Singapore Yu Huang Gong and Nagore Dargah Indian Muslim Heritage Centre will be open to visitors.

On Saturday evening, Anderson Bridge and Connaught Drive in the Civic District, as well as parts of the Telok Ayer Conservation Area such as McCallum Street and Boon Tat Street, will be closed to traffic.

The third Parks Festival, organised by the National Parks Board (NParks), will run from 5pm to 11pm on Saturday evening at Esplanade Park and Empress Lawn.

It will feature food trucks along Fullerton Road, a pet lovers' corner and live music with the Live Out Loud: Battle of the Bands programme as well as the 10th instalment of NParks' concert series Rockestra, with bands such as Enigma and Jive Talkin' performing.

On Sunday morning, 5.5km of roads in the Civic District and Central Business District (CBD), as well as the Telok Ayer Conservation Area, will be closed to traffic between 8am and noon, allowing members of the public to walk, cycle or jog around the area freely.

There will be a dance carnival, called Got To Move Spotlight, organised by the National Arts Council. There will also be bike rentals, as well as outdoor yoga and sports events.

Between 9am and 11am, visitors can also try manoeuvring a pedal go-kart around Telok Ayer and the CBD.

For more details, visit http://ura.sg/carfreesundaysg

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