URA Draft Master Plan 2013: Nearly everyone in Singapore will live within 400m of a park

New eco-spaces are in the works for wildlife in Singapore, and there are ambitious plans to have almost everyone in Singapore living within 400m of a park.

The go-green plans in the URA Draft Masterplan 2013 call for recreational spaces to be more integrated with nature.

Toa Payoh Town Park, for example, will get a new regional library and sports facilities, while Holland Village will get a new community park.

The success of PUB's ABC ("active, beautiful and clean") Waters projects at Siglap and Alexandra Canals indicates other waterways could be covered with decks that serve as plazas and seating areas.

More will have easy access to green spaces too.

The National Development Ministry's land use plan released in January laid out a target of having 85 per cent of residents live within 400m of a park. This was raised to 90 per cent in Wednesday's draft master plan.

In the longer term, a new eco-corridor will be built through the future Tengah town - now a military training ground - allowing wildlife to pass between the catchment areas.

The corridor will connect the Western Water Catchment to the Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Nature Reserves.

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