New cycling path in Guillemard Road links park connectors in Geylang to city inter-town route

SINGAPORE - Cyclists travelling from eastern Singapore to the city centre will have a smoother ride now that a footpath along a 100m section of Guillemard Road has been widened significantly, and a new dedicated cycling path has been built.

Linking the Sims Avenue and Geylang park connectors, what used to be a 1.2m-wide footpath outside Grandlink Square and a row of shophouses is now a 3.8m-wide pavement that includes a short cycling path marked out with signs and a coat of red paint.

Road space was repurposed and realigned to make room for the cycling path and wider pavement, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a Facebook post on Wednesday (April 6).

Before this, cyclists travelling between the two park connectors had to share the narrow footpath with other pedestrians, or ride on the road.

With the new path, cyclists and other personal mobility device users now have direct links from areas such as Geylang and Kembangan to the Singapore Sports Hub in Kallang and Gardens by the Bay, LTA said.

The bus stop outside Grandlink Square has also been improved.

It now has a shelter and a bypass path for cyclists.

While there have been cycling paths built in recent years that are linked to existing park connectors within towns, such as in Tampines and Taman Jurong, the new path in Guillemard Road forms part of an inter-town cycling route from Geylang to the city.

It was one of two inter-town routes that were announced in 2019, with the other between Queenstown and the city also in the works.

According to an LTA exhibition last year, the 2.3km-long cycling path along Commonwealth Avenue, which will link Ulu Pandan Park Connector and the Alexandra Canal Linear Park, is supposed to be ready some time this year.

Both the Geylang-City and Queenstown-City routes were originally expected to be completed in 2020, but construction was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

LTA said in 2019 that residents in six towns - Chinatown, Farrer Park, Jalan Besar, Kallang, Lavender and Little India - may also enjoy a direct cycling connection to the city, depending on the results of a feasibility study.

Since 2015, there have also been plans for a Bishan-to-city cycling route that will run through Kallang Park Connector.

New or improved bicycle-friendly crossings at various locations along the 10km route are currently being built and are expected to be completed next year.

These inter-town routes are part of the Government's efforts to expand the cycling network here from 500km today to 800km in the next two to three years, and around 1,300km by 2030.

While the new cycling path in Guillemard Road is a relatively small improvement in the grander scheme of things, Mr Woon Taiwoon, co-founder of cycling group Love Cycling SG, said it matters as it will make the park connectors there much more useful.

"It is important that we try to connect the park connectors here together," said Mr Woon, who has ridden in the area before.

"Sometimes, the park connector just ends, and unless you live in the area, nobody knows how to get to the other side.

"Every bit helps."