Thursday, December 17, 2009

ST 14 Dec 2009 - "Tampines set to be first cycling town"

"Tampines set to be first cycling town," by Jennani Durai. The Straits Times, 14 Dec 2009 Successful trial and new infrastructure pave the way for shared footpaths.

skitched-20091217-171937.jpg
Tampines GRC MPs (from left) Masagos Zulkifli, Ong Kian Min, Sin Boon Ann, Mah Bow Tan, Irene Ng and North East district mayor Teo Ser Luck waving to say 'thank you' during the launch of the Tampines Safe Cycling Clinic yesterday morning. The two-hour clinics, conducted by volunteer cycling wardens, will teach cyclists traffic rules and cycling etiquette. -- ST Photo: Ashleigh Sim


"FROM March 1 next year, footways in Tampines will be shared by pedestrians and cyclists alike as it becomes Singapore's first cycling town.

A two-year trial to see if this could be safely done has been successful, the Tampines MPs said yesterday.

The Members of Parliament said the trial found that very few cyclists rode recklessly, and a majority of residents - 53 per cent in 2007 and 65 per cent this year - supported the sharing of walkways.

The Group Representation Constituency (GRC) has been working with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Traffic Police since May 2007 to assess the feasibility of making Tampines a model cycling town, said MP Masagos Zulkifli.

'Cycling is an environmentally friendly and healthy mode of transport and Tampines, being a compact town, is an ideal choice,' he noted.

With Tampines MRT station as a focal point, the farthest block is only 2km away. He said: 'With facilities, schools and shops in close proximity, more and more residents are choosing bicycles as their preferred mode of transport to travel about in Tampines.'

The trial was sparked by a 2005 parliamentary debate in which Tampines GRC MP Irene Ng called for cyclists to be allowed to ride on footways, in the light of an increasing number of them having been involved in fatal accidents on busy roads.

But the decision was conditional on three key features - infrastructure, education and enforcement - being implemented together, said Mr Masagos.

The GRC began widening footways to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists. The town council also constructed two new stretches of bicycle paths, and the LTA will be building 6.9km of bicycle paths in the first half of next year.

Yesterday also marked the launch of the Tampines Safe Cycling Clinics, funded by the North East Community Development Council. The two-hour clinics, conducted by volunteer cycling wardens, will teach cyclists traffic rules and cycling etiquette.

The clinics are an initiative of North East district mayor Teo Ser Luck, who set up the Safe Cycling Task Force for the Tampines project. He lost a friend, Mr Sylvester Ang, to a cycling accident in 2004. 'His wife said to me, don't let his death go to waste,' he recalled.

As a further check, Mr Masagos said the by-laws would be amended to allow the Tampines Town Council to hand out fines of between $50 and $1,000 to errant cyclists. Reckless cyclists can also be taken to court and fined up to $5,000.

The by-laws will ensure that errant cyclists do not ruin the system for the majority of safe cyclists, said Minister for National Development and Tampines MP Mah Bow Tan.

Residents hope this will be the case.

'Footpaths are where you would feel safe from cars, but if you add cyclists to the paths, you have to always be alert,' said student Penelope Teo, 22.

But Mr Mah is confident that conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians will be minimised in time. 'The message we want to give cyclists is that the pedestrians have the right of way. If you want to behave like a motorist, go on the road,' he said."

jennanid@sph.com.sg
--- end ---

To read more, see the older articles here about Tampines - link and the ST Discussion Forum - link.

4 comments:

Eileen W said...

I hope cycling on pavement will extend to all parts of singapore too. I can't imagine my primary school going children cycling on the road to and from school. It would be too dangerous!

Darrick said...

One day when I return home my dad told me sadly after seeing the news that cyclists are not allowed to ride on pedestrian pavement. It was his form of light exercise to keep a healthy life. There are so many road accidents on the road and still cars are zooming on the roads everyday! Joke aside, not to be bias, I am a pedestrian, cyclist and also a motorist. Cycling on pedestrian walkway is not something new, the relation is the same as between Car-motorists and Motor-cyclists, it all comes down to giving way to each other, there are reckless, selfish and arrogant pedestrians too! I totally agree with Mr. Mah Bow Tan that there are cycling disciplines to be observed and riding along the main road will cause more fatal accidents. What happened to the "Courtesy is the way of Life" theme in Singapore neighbourhoods?

Darrick said...

One day when I return home my dad told me sadly after seeing the news that cyclists are not allowed to ride on pedestrian pavement. It was his form of light exercise to keep a healthy life. There are so many road accidents on the road and still cars are zooming on the roads everyday! Joke aside, not to be bias, I am a pedestrian, cyclist and also a motorist. Cycling on pedestrian walkway is not something new, it all comes down to giving way to each other, there are reckless and arrogant pedestrian too! I totally agree with Mr. Mah Bow Tan that there are cycling disciplines to be observed and riding along the road will cause more fatal accidents. What happened to the "Courtesy is the way of Life" theme in Singapore neighbourhoods?

aero said...

A cyclist myself, I beleive that cyclist should learn either, how to cycle n the road and follow road rules or cycle on the pavement and give way to pedestrians. CYCLISTS ONLY HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY ON CYCLING LANES!!!!!. What is irritating is MINDLESS CYCLIST RINING THEIR BELLS ON THE PAVEMENT AND SPEEDING THRU EXPECTING PEDESTRIANS TO MOVE ASIDE AS THEY ZOOM BY!