"That last leg can kill you" / Make Clementi the next cycling town - in my lifetime please

See the URA Draft Master Plan 2013: "Cycling For All"

Kevin Lam Koi Yau wrote to The Straits Times Forum page (17 Mar 2014) to say,

Make Clementi the next cycling town

It is a good idea to promote intra-town cycling in selected Housing Board towns. But I am disappointed that Clementi has not been selected among the latest batch of cycling towns.

With its close proximity to the Ulu Pandan park connector - which links with the Jurong park connector, Bukit Batok Nature Park, International Business Park, Dover MRT and Boon Lay MRT - and schools such as the National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Clementi could benefit greatly from a well-thought-out cycling infrastructure, which could ease public transport woes during peak hours as well as get our young people to adopt an active lifestyle.

An avid cyclist once told me not to commute to NUS for work, though I live in Clementi, as there are no safe routes.

I urge the Land Transport Authority to consider investing in cycling infrastructure in Clementi to boost safety for cyclists and get more people to take up cycling.

Click for a larger map

That last leg can kill you

Kevin reminded me I am that cyclist who told him not to cycle to NUS. And my advice still holds. There is a great improvement in connectivity in the area compared to the eighties, carved out mostly by NParks' Park Connector Network and enhance by the Rail Corridor which we all hope is here to stay.

While there is a decent connectivity, that last leg can kill you! Approaching NUS via Clementi Road or South Buona Vista is harzadous. This is not recommended for a daily commute.

NUS' U Town has now opened up a pavement route alongside Clementi Road if you are using the Ulu Pandan Park Connector. It is not a fast route, but a relatively safe one. But this will not encourage commuting in an area filled with potential cycling commuters, parking and shower facilities. I have shared these ideas with URA through the National Cycling Plan dialogue but I do think this area is a tough one to begin a cycling infrastructure enhancement project. Not a low hanging fruit.

Still, the Clementi - NUS - Holland Village area needs a makeover. The problems in this area exceed cycling infrastructure for sure. Still, one relief to the daily congestion would be by facilitating cycling.

Will the National Cycling Plan come to town, and in my lifetime, please?

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URA Draft Master Plan 2013: National Cycling Plan

Intra-Town Cycling Paths - All Towns To Be Cycling Towns

Off-road intra-town cycling paths will allow residents to cycle safely from their homes to major transport hubs and key amenities such as food centres, schools, supermarkets and community centres within the town.

By 2015, 100 km of intra-town cycling paths will have been developed in several cycling towns [Tampines, Sembawang, Bedok, Changi-Simei, Pasir Ris, Taman Jurong, Yishun, East Coast, Jurong Lake District, Marina Bay and Punggol]

.

Another 90 km of cycling paths will be added to more towns by 2020. The aim is to provide all 26 HDB towns across Singapore with comprehensive intra-town cycling networks for residents to cycle to and from MRT stations and neighbourhood centres.

Ivan Chew's suggestions for the Khatib Bongsu Park Connector

Ivan Chew at the Rambling Librarian writes,

"I love our Park Connectors. I ride on the Khatib Bongsu park connector most often (sometimes connecting all the way to Woodlands Waterfront, through the Admiralty connector). I've noticed minor improvements to the Khatib Bongsu connector in the last two years. But there's still room for improvements. "

And he goes on to detail the suggestions for seven sections of the Khatib Bongsu Park Connector, with illustrations such as this one:

If you have suggestions about your favourite PCN, blog about it and let me know, I'll highlight it here and forward the links to URA and any other relevant agency. Thanks Ivan!

"LTA seeks feedback on Land Transport Masterplan" (until 30 Sep 2012)

"LTA seeks feedback on Land Transport Masterplan." Channel News Asia, 25 Jun 2012.

"SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is seeking public feedback on its existing and future Land Transport Masterplan.

The plan maps out strategies that will go into formulating the country's transport policies.

The last plan, launched in 2008, saw initiatives such as expanded rail and road networks as well as improved barrier free access to bus and rail stations.

As part of its update, the LTA will gather public views on how the various programmes under the 2008 masterplan can be refined as well as identify new initiatives.

To give feedback, go to this website.

The portal will host online discussion forums and surveys that the public can participate in.

Detailed information on the scope of the consultation process and the 2008 Masterplan is also available.

Alternatively, members of the public can email the LTA at LTA-LTMP@lta.gov.sg.

The LTA said those who participate stand to win an EZ-Link card worth S$10.

Feedback channels will open till 30 September.

As part of the consultation process, LTA will also carry out a series of focus group discussions, after which views will be consolidated and released with the updated masterplan, which is targeted for 2013."

PUB's updates (in May) about Lorong Halus Wetland - water cooler and directions

6th May 2012 - I was cycling past the newly officially opened Lorong Halus Wetlands from Changi with my cycling kakis, Zendogs. I encountered a friend whose visitor was suffering from heat exhaustion. She was unable to direct a cab in as the operator kept thinking about Sungei Buloh once they heard the word "wetlands"; which is great for that park but not for this situation!

And I realised the only water point was in the toilet.

Hidayah and Sivasothi chatting while we waited for the taxi company to call us back
Photo by Kevin Lim

So we helped out, with some intense googling using both Google Maps and OneMap, then a forceful conversation with the confused taxi company's phone operator and eventually I directed a very patient taxi driver over the phone - he eventually had to do a U-turn in the farmway roads nearby before finally rescuing the heat-exhausted individual.

I wrote to PUB the following week to suggest a water point be instated outside the toilets. Although I happily filled up my water bottles from the sink there, some might hesitate!

I also suggested they provide a name for the shelter to direct taxi operators to, as well as relevant road signs and even a road name.

PUB's Lau Ying Shan wrote back quite soon after with some updates which I thanked him for:

• The name for the visitor structure is the ‘Educational Kiosk’, or ‘Edu-kiosk’ for short.
• There will be a water cooler at the Edukiosk very soon.
• They will look into the suggestion about a taxi information panel or its equivalent.
• They will investigate clearer road signs (it will be helpful for unfamiliar drivers).
• The address of Lorong Halus Wetland is 326 Lorong Halus, Singapore 536587. This can be found on SLA One Map [the building icon is numbered in OneMap but I probably missed that on the small screen of my iPhone], and also on Streetdirectory.com [which provides a unique entry for the EduKiosk as Lor Halus Kiosk]

Next time I'm there, I'll drop in for a look and provide feedback as required. It's helpful when the public does this as our user-experience can provide managers with helpful suggestions.

This post is late as it was in a forced hibernation in my drafts folder while I forgot about it, whoops!

SEC calls for a more holistic transport strategy encouraging behavioural change

"11 recommendations to tackle climate change," by Esther Ng. Today, 14 Oct 2011.

Singapore - Free public transport during certain hours, quarterly food, electricity and water rationing, and farmers' markets in housing estates are some recommendations the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) has made to NCCS 2012, the National Climate Change Secretariat's public consultation exercise.

Top on the list of its 11 recommendations is a call for a more holistic transport strategy which encourages "behavioural change as a longer-term solution".

For instance, schools could increase "bicycle parking areas" and get students living nearby to ride to school instead of having their parents drop them off.

Bicycle racks can be installed on public buses, so that people who wish to cycle to work, but live too far from their workplace, can split their commute between bicycle and bus routes.

The Greater Richmond Transit in the United States and bike-sharing schemes in London and Dublin are some successful examples, the council noted.

Free public rides on public transport during peak hours on weekdays or one weekend a month could encourage more people to take public transport.

Said the SEC's executive director Jose Raymond: "Singapore needs a strategy to balance the needs of a growing population with cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability. This balance cannot be achieved simply by growing public transport infrastructure or by continuing to tax vehicle owners heavily."

The SEC said air-conditioning bus interchanges and hawker centres was "unnecessary" and "contributes to avoidable energy wastage" and called on the Government to consider "alternative measures" to cool down public spaces.

With climate change affecting food, energy and water security, the council recommended quarterly food, electricity and water rationing for schools, offices and households. The intent is to "encourage a greater understanding of the energy-intensive and expensive processes that bring food, water and energy ... and that these scarce resources should not be taken for granted".

Additionally, farmers' markets and produce from rooftop gardens in public housing estates will enhance Singapore's food security and reduce the Republic's carbon footprint from food imports.

You can submit feedback to the National Climate Change Secretariat at their webpage.

Ride of Silence (Singapore) - 20 May 2009

"A cyclist with a cause," by Agatha Koh Brazil [agatha@mediacorp.com.sg].
Today, 12 May 2009

A CYCLIST WITH A CAUSE
----------------------

SOON after he arrived in Singapore in 2007, Benoit Valin got a bicycle to ride to his office at Buona Vista. Just as quickly too, on a rainy October day, he was rendered a bloody mess along Portsdown Road by a motorist who turned without looking.

Then the motorist in the car behind honked at him to get out of the way. "She well saw that I had blood on my head and other parts of my body, but she waved her fist to threaten me," says the 31-year-old Canadian.

That wasn’t the only incident for the dedicated "bike commuter". "Commuting is the only time I can ride my bike. Unfortunately, it is also the most dangerous time of the day (to do so)." Other close calls include one in January when a driver shot across three lanes of Commonwealth Avenue and Benoit had to swerve to avoid him. In doing so, he had to "touch" the car to avoid being hit by a bus. That enraged the motorist who "chased down" the road for about a kilometre. "Then he came out of the car, fists in the air,” recalls the Ottawa native.

In February, along Bukit Timah Road, a driver shot across two lanes and narrowly avoided clipping him. "At the light, I knocked on his window to talk. He did the 'I’ve done nothing wrong, you’re on the road and you have no place here' speech," says Benoit. "That about sums it up. This happens about every week, but I don’t make a fuss about them ... only when they really have to be educated."

May 20 is when he hopes this will happen. That is when Ride of Silence Singapore - he is the organiser - will kick off at 7pm from Merlion Park at Clifford Pier. Attending riders will dress in white and ride - in silence - to honour those killed or injured while cycling on public roads. Last year, there were about 22 such deaths here, and this year, the figure already stands at six, says Benoit. It is expected to increase with the escalating popularity of cycling.

The riders here will join others worldwide in a silent slow ride on May 20 to raise the awareness of motorists and other road users as well as that of the authorities. The first ride originated in the United States city of Dallas, after endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz was killed when hit by the mirror of a passing bus. Officials from the Safe Cycling Task Force will also join in. The route (yet to be approved) will cover 19km or so.

Cycling for Benoit has been a 14-year “love story”. At 17 and at college, he needed money, so he started cycling extensively as a messenger in Ottawa. At university in Boston, he volunteered for Bikes Not Bombs, a not-for-profit organisation that recycles old bikes for third-world countries. Graduate school between 2001 and 2006 meant never staying long enough in a place to sustain a devotion to a cause. Until Singapore, where he saw "how road, and cycling safety could improve the quality of life for everyone".

That encounter in February made the bachelor decide to dedicate his spare time to cycling safety. He then had a cause, but no means to reach out. "Changing the world by yourself, when all you see is the same five people every day is very difficult," says the bioinformatics scientist for a pharmaceutical company. In April, he received an email from Canada’s National Capital Commission, advertising the Ride of Silence. "It was an epiphany. I found the means to unite people in support for a cause that affects everyone," he says.

There have been 100 responses from his Facebook group so far. Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) Vivian Balakrishnan is scheduled to be present, as is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for MCYS and Ministry of Transport, Mr Teo Ser Luck.

Benoit clocks about 1,000km a month riding from his Bukit Batok home to Buona Vista. When the 200km of park connectors are completed by 2015, "Singapore will become a world-class haven for cyclists." "Unfortunately, park connectors don’t go everywhere. They cover only 60 per cent of my commute. The challenge is coping with traffic and the dangers of traffic." That means drivers of every ilk, as well as pedestrians, especially "those who zig-zag between cars at lights and pop up without warning". Cyclists who ride at night without lights and reflectors, wearing dark clothes, and those who ride against traffic and through lights are at fault, too.

Benoit is keen that helmets be worn, and made mandatory for riders under 12. "Deaths can never be reduced to zero. Drivers need to learn how to communicate their intentions clearly to cyclists (and vice versa). The rules of the road need to be clearer so they can be respected. Only then can roads be safer." Cycling safety should be incorporated into driving classes and tested during the theory test. Physical education teachers too, should teach cycling safety, he says.

"On a bicycle, safety means staying alive."

Singapore’s first such ride was in 2006, started by Jimi Loh. But the rides were never registered with the US and not publicised. Benoit and Mr Loh will work together next year. For details visit www.rideofsilence.org

Email your views to voices@mediacorp.com.sg

Bicycle lane is the way to go?

120 out of the 675 public feedback received by the Sustainable Singapore are related to bicycling.

This is an impressive figure because the invitation for feedback was wide ranged including:

• The way we work
  
• The way we commute and
  
• The way we live and play
  

Out of this 120 feedback an even more impression 75% suggested we should have bicycle lane to protect the cyclists from motorized transport.

It is very clear that there are many potential cyclists out there, but they are too intimidated by the danger on our roads. Without a safe environment cycling on the smoothly paved Singapore road remain only as a dream for most people.

No one is prepare to risk his life to become more green.

The heated debate over the trial on "Share pavement for pedestrain and cyclist" in Tampines is a clear signal that cyclists need their own space.

There will be less car if we built less road, there will be less people walking if there is no safe pavement. Similarly there are not many cyclists because there is hardly any safety facilities cater for this group of road users.

Judging from the public response, now may be the best time ever for the government to push for some bicycle lanes in Singapore.

Letter - "Here's how to make cycling safe for all"

Today, 15 Sep 2008
HERE'S HOW TO MAKE CYCLING SAFE FOR ALL
-------------------------------------------
Letter from Harold Tay


I REFER to "A cycle of change" (Sept 13). The writer has overestimated the importance of integrating bicycles on buses. This distracts from more important issues such as road safety. The most important thing that can be done to encourage cycling is to make it safer for cyclists on our roads. To this end, the Traffic Police is to be commended on their recent campaign targeting motorists, "Be safe, save lives".

The writer seems to feel that there is great contention between buses and cyclists. This was true in the past and is still true in the case of private buses, but for public buses, the situation has improved immensely.

The situation near bus stops requires only cyclist education: Cyclists need to take the whole lane at junctions where there may be contention.

Public bus drivers understand this.


Let me list some factors we should not be tempted by, at least not yet:

• Cycle lanes. Recognise that the danger arises at junctions, which cycle lanes do not address.


• Cycle paths. Not cost effective and they will be automatically repurposed for recreation, making them less useful for commuting.


• Bicycle-mass transit integration. Our transport operators aren't interested in this and the number of commuters interested in this option is also quite low. Commuters are locking up their bikes at MRT stations and bus stops: This is a big hint.

We should instead be concentrating on these:

• Improving driver safety education. The curriculum in driving schools should include training on sharing the road with cyclists.


• Bring back the policemen on bicycles. Nothing lends more legitimacy to cycling than this act.


• Increase the penalties for motorist traffic infractions that endanger lives. Motorists typically do not gauge properly the danger they impose.


• Permit non-motorised bicycle use on pedestrian pavements everywhere but enforce a rule that a bicycle may not overtake a pedestrian. Pedestrians hate being overtaken and this rule makes infraction detection easy. A cyclist wanting to go faster should be on the road.


• Bring some order to the use of motor-assisted bicycles. A simple rule to use is, if such a bicycle is seen going uphill or starting off without the cyclist expending any effort, then the cyclist should be charged with operating an unlicenced motorcycle.


• Cyclist training. Target the single largest cycling group for education: Foreign workers. Training this single group will have a knock-on effect.

Loyang Avenue's intersection - be safe not sorry

"LETHAL WEAPONS ON THE ROAD," letter from Steve K Ngo. Today, 13 Mar 2008. This Loyang resident sees irresponsible lorry drivers daily.

I refer to the report "Driver killed in five-vehicle pile-up" (March 12). My condolences go to the family of the deceased. It is a tragedy if an accident is due to the blatant recklessness of another person.

I have been living in the Loyang Avenue area for seven years and take regular evening walks there.

This stretch of road is infested with irresponsible truck and lorry drivers who speed.

Stand on the side of the road for 10 minutes and you will see what I mean. All it takes for an accident to happen is for a speeding truck to veer out of control and head for the pavement, which is about 2m away.

We need to enforce strict laws in the right areas and this is one of them. The lethal, moving "weapon" that weighs several tonnes can cause serious trouble on the road.

Also, these truck and lorry drivers are no angels - they are notorious for flashing their middle fingers and tailgating motorists to "drive home" their point.

It was interesting to read this - I have found Loyang Avenue to be the scene of some aggressive heavy vehicle driving myself. I have ridden through on numerous occasions this past decade and have been particularly careful on that stretch on my way to Changi. I actually crashed once in the 90's when a falling headlight (it was a huge one attached to my basket) jammed my front wheel. I got tossed over the handlebars on a fast downhill stretch and I glad for my mental preparation. I managed to flip over and land, leaning iin with one foot on the pavement. First thing I did was to head further in across the drain to safety and sit down with my isotonic drink to cool down. Retrieving my bike, strewn on the side of that road could wait. My heavy steel bike, called Champion Du Monde, survived that crash easily but I had some recovery to do!

Cyclists no longer need ride that road - NParks has provided safe passage as part of the Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network (ECPCN), so cyclists ride to Changi safely while the heavy vehicles whizz by on the road. It is especially satisfying because you can see what you previously had to contend with from the safety of the PCN. With the industrial parks nearby, there are lots of cyclists heading to work in safety now. Quite the life-saver!

However the pedestrian crossing across the mouth of Loyang Lane forms a potentially hazardous intersection, due to the aggressive driving characteristic of Loyang Avenue. it is a downhill stretch for both driver and cyclist.

When Lekowala, Ladybug and I first tried out the PCN, as usual, we watched out for such turning vehicles. This despite our colourful clothes and flashing front and rear lights - a vehicle turning into Loyang Lane is coming sideways into us so could miss the lights. Since they turn fast, its unnerving for pedestrians and cyclists! So we usually wait until a vehicle turns up and stops; and its easier when there are lots of us.

On more than one occasion, we had to wave off an aggressive truck driver screeching into that intersection. Some drivers have tried to accelerate past us before we cross - despite the prominent green man at the pedestrian crossing.

So I worried about park cyclists out of Pasir Ris venturing to Changi on this new PCN. Some may expect the right of way when the green man turns on. Luckily there aren't many of those yet; it seems to be the "cycle to work" and more experienced road cyclists who are the main users right now. The connection out of Pasir Ris has an uphill stretch so that might deter the weak cyclists. I have seen the less discerning element on the flat stretch from Changi to East Coast Park. They have overshot intersections on that route!

After the first few rides on the coastal stretch of the ECPCN, I submitted feedback to NParks. It included the suggestion to paint a large "STOP" sign on the PCN track leading to the Loyang Lane intersection to alert cyclists, since they tend to the track in front of them. The other suggestion was for LTA to provide a black - yellow or orange - black sign at eye level of motorbike riders and lorry drivers with an "Alert: Cyclists/Pedestrian crossing".

NParks is looking into this and the other points raised in the feedback and highlighted from other blogs. The other thing to do would be an increased presence of traffic police and slowing that road down.