Work starts on pedestrian-friendly streets in Bukit Batok West; 4 other towns to follow

SINGAPORE – Work has begun in Bukit Batok West, the first of

five towns under the Government’s Friendly Streets initiative,

to modify some roads connected to key amenities so that they are more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly.

New signage will tell motorists that they are entering a Friendly Street, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on Dec 4 at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Bukit Batok West project.

From December, construction on these pedestrian-friendly streets will also start progressively in Ang Mo Kio, Tampines, Toa Payoh and West Coast, with completion expected by 2025.

Depending on the specific needs of each town and conditions of the earmarked streets, the initiative will have features such as wider footpaths, dedicated cycling paths, barrier-free pedestrian crossings, more frequent and

longer green-man signals,

and measures such as road humps to slow down traffic.

LTA said green-man signals will be extended by three to 12 seconds, depending on the length of the crossing, and take into account slower walking speeds.

Selected signage on these pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares will feature a new logo with an emblem of a smiling sun. These will be found at places such as the entrances of Friendly Streets and before kerb-free crossings.

These are meant as signals to motorists that they are entering a pedestrian-friendly area and should slow down and watch out for seniors and young children using the crossings.

Green road surfaces bearing speed limit markings will also remind motorists using Friendly Streets to slow down.

LTA said the initiative would “make daily journeys to key amenities in the towns by walking and cycling safer, more convenient and comfortable”.

In Bukit Batok West, for instance, some lanes will be narrowed where possible to make it easier for pedestrians to cross.

There will also be a signalised crossing at the junction of Bukit Batok Street 31 and 32 to make it safer for pedestrians to get to Hong Kah North Community Club.

Behind the community club is an activity centre at Block 377A Bukit Batok Street 31, which sits in a Friendly Street.

The centre draws seniors such as retiree Cheong Ee Lin, 70, who visits every weekday. Her 10-minute walk from home entails crossing two streets, where she said the longer green-man signals would be helpful.

When told of the Friendly Streets initiative, she said in Mandarin that she wished it could be completed sooner.

Another visitor to the centre, retiree P. K. Lee, 61, welcomed the new features, but wished that more could be done to improve the accessibility from the main road to the centre.

He said some seniors often end up using a makeshift footpath that is uneven to get there, instead of walking in front of the shops on the other side of the road, where there may be goods on display or shoppers in the way.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr Richard Lim, a grassroots leader on a task force for the Bukit Batok West project, said he appreciated the move to lower speed limits from 50kmh to 40kmh on a stretch in Bukit Batok West Avenue 5 that many pedestrians use to reach the neighbourhood centre.

Announced in March, the Friendly Streets initiative comes on top of existing efforts such as Silver Zones, which prioritise seniors, School Zones for pupils, and Transit Priority Corridors, which are roads integrated with a bus lane, wider footpaths and dedicated cycling or shared paths.

The ceremony on Dec 4 came six months after LTA consulted with local advisers from the five towns, government representatives, the town councils and grassroots leaders on how to set the initiative in motion. In-person interviews and online surveys canvassing views from residents were also done for the towns.

LTA said nine in 10 of the survey respondents, including seniors, walk to neighbourhood centres.

It described as “positive” the response from residents and others to the proposed features across the five towns, with nine in 10 also believing the initiative would improve safety and barrier-free accessibility in their neighbourhoods.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony held at Block 377A Bukit Batok Street 31, Acting Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said this gave the authorities the confidence to

expand the scheme beyond the five pilot projects to all towns islandwide.

“By 2030, every town in Singapore will have at least one Friendly Street,” he said.