- "Changi-Simei and Bedok join ranks of cycling towns," by Maria Almenoar. The Straits Times, 16 Jul 2010.
- "Marina Bay to be showcase cycling town," by Maria Almenoar. The Straits Times, 16 Jul 2010.
- "The two-wheeler push," by Leong Wee Keat. Today Online, 16 Jul 2010.
"Seven towns to have dedicated cycling paths by 2014," by Dylan Loh. 15 July 2010.
"SINGAPORE: The government pedals forward with plans to get more people on two wheels. By 2014, Changi-Simei and Bedok will have dedicated cycling lanes.
This will bring to seven the number of estates where the government aims to promote intra-town biking to transport nodes like MRT stations. The other towns, announced in February 2009, are Yishun, Tampines, Sembawang, Taman Jurong and Pasir Ris. The tracks in these towns will be completed by 2012. In total, S$43 million will be spent for such dedicated cycling paths in the seven towns.
Besides the heartlands, the Marina Bay area will also see more biking action.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been working closely with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Parks Board to implement a network of cycling paths in the area. S$26 million has been set aside for the project. Work on these bicycle paths will begin this year and by 2014, cyclists can look forward to 16 kilometres of dedicated bicycle lanes in the Marina Bay area.
Meantime, construction of dedicated cycling paths in Tampines and Yishun has started. The first 1.2-kilometre stretch in Tampines will open for use this Sunday.
Dedicated bicycle lanes are hugely popular in European cities like Salzburg, Berlin and especially Amsterdam, where the bikes outnumber people by almost half. That's how much they love their two wheels. So the big question is: Can a similar cycling culture catch on in Singapore?
"I suppose so, because like now, cars are giving off too much greenhouse gas emissions," said a member of the public.
"It's not just a form of transport but it also builds up your physical fitness. So I would go for cycling," said another.
"No, because people might get in the way when I cycle and it's quite troublesome," said a third.
Initiatives like safety talks and cycling clinics will be used to tell the public about responsible cycling.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Teo Ser Luck said: "We want to make sure that they are educated in terms of some of the behaviours when they're cycling and making sure they recognise the different signs."
In addition, more resources will also be put into developing bicycle parking facilities at key transport hubs. "
- CNA/al/ir
4 comments:
If the government wants car drivers to move to bicycles then it would make sense to cut part of the roads to make cycleways rather than mixing cycles with pedestrians on our narrow pedestrian walkways. I have been hit 3 times by speeding cyclists. I now avoid various routes because they are too dangerous to walk on being harassed by cycles. (Also what on earth is the speed limit for cycles on walkways?)
While I have no idea what the speed limit is, even if I can cycle 34km/h on a flat road, it is quite scary to cycle that speed on bike paths that is "shared" with pedestrians.
Anyway, most of the bike paths I see are designed poorly, in such a way that pedestrians find it more appealing to walk there, due to shade, or being further inward away from the roads.
Silly design if you ask me. I'd rather have a thin white/blue/whatever line (about 1m from the kerb) on the actual road, asking drivers to be aware, and share the road with cyclists. Not something like a bus lane where cars can't drive in at certain times.
So, now they "found" the space in our small island nation :)
A poorly design e.g.: http://back2nature.blogspot.com/2009/02/dedicated.html
I also like the idea of "a thin white/blue/whatever line (about 1m from the kerb) on the actual road." This is cheap, easy to implement, especially for inter-town purpose. I believe it will also attract more cyclists, thus lesser cars and therefore the issue of space is not as bad as it may seem.
Quite encouraging to see S'pore government looking forward and embracing bicycle transportation (when for many folks bikes are a symbol of a less prosperous past). The challenge as the cycling-friendly culture continues to evolve will be that same as in other cities around the world. do you separate bikes from motor vehicles to avoid conflicts? or do you treat them equally as vehicles under traffic laws...or restrict to bike paths and bike lanes? or some combination of those two schools of thought? In the U.S., those who favor treating bikes the same as motor vehicles are often called "vehicular cyclists"...by behaving as vehicles and following the same rules, cyclists are recognized and earn respect as legitimate road users and are more predictable if they follow the flow of traffic and obey the same traffic signals. when it comes to conflicts with pedestrians...there is a general rule with all forms of transportation: slow down and yield to the slower and more vulnerable. Courtesy of course is a very important component of everyone getting along. Another concept that is often discussed when building a bike friendly community is the "four E's": Engineering (having adequate infrastructure to accommodate bikes), education (educating the community about safety,the benefits of cycling), Encouragement (positive reinforcement and messages, bike-friendly employers and commuting programs with incentives), and enforcement (making sure both cyclists and motorists follow the law to reduce conflicts) . Glad to see S'pore taking forward steps and looking forward to seeing a bike friendly society take shape as time goes on. It is a long and hard process..there will always be people who see bikes as nuisances that do not belong on the road...and cyclists as a minority population taking resources away from motorists. Good Luck and keep the discussion positive and productive.
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