How repurposed roads could pave your way to fitness, fun, and a car-lite Singapore!

Close your eyes and imagine a bustling city.

Can you hear the roar of traffic? Chances are, you’re not alone. Many of us associate urban living with the rush of countless vehicles.

But as we grow more conscientious about our personal health, our surroundings, and carbon footprint, car-lite cities may be closer to reality than we think. Everybody is taking public transport or hopping on their bicycles these days, and that’s where our plan to repurpose Singapore’s roads comes in.

Road repurposing is just one aspect of our Land Transport Masterplan 2040 (LTMP2040), which will reimagine Singapore’s streets and public spaces to better serve the community. LTA is identifying suitable road spaces to repurpose into footpaths, cycling paths, bus priority measures such as bus lanes, and community spaces. Initiatives such as the Islandwide Cycling Network (ICN), Transit Priority Corridors*, and pedestrianised areas will enliven neighbourhoods and enhance livability.

During each road repurposing project, feedback from residents, commuters, and business owners is used to help us refine and recalibrate our plans before cementing changes. By prioritising the needs of the public and using that to inform our approach, we are creating safer, more inclusive, and more sustainable neighbourhoods.

_{*Transit Priority Corridors (TPCs) are roads that are integrated with bus lane, wider footpaths and dedicated cycling paths or shared paths.}

Wonder what these projects are and how they can improve your commute and leisure time?

Check out our latest projects below!

Central: A heartland respite in Tiong Bahru

Visit Tiong Bahru, one of the hippest places to explore right in the Central region!

If you’re looking for a heartland respite away from the City center, explore the Tiong Bahru market area that now offers a safer walking environment and more community spaces! Other than enjoying the aesthetic and cultural value of our traditional shophouse buildings, we considered how widening the walkways could enhance safety as well as the walking experience. So in March 2022, we partially pedestrianised Eng Hoon Street and removed the roadside hourly parking lots along Seng Poh Road and Lim Liak Street to create more space for pedestrians to get around.

What’s great about this? Residents, especially seniors and children, can enjoy greater safety and relaxed journeys with the enhanced walking access to and from the Tiong Bahru Market!

Keep a lookout for more loading and unloading bays around Tiong Bahru market, a taxi stand with shelter closer to the market entrance, and a new pick-up and drop-off point with a shelter to the market!

North: Convenient Commuting at Woodlands Ring Road (Kampung Admiralty)

With plenty of bus services in operation, hopping aboard a bus can take you just about anywhere in Singapore. It’s convenient, easy and more eco-friendly compared to driving a car. As more of us trade our car keys for travel cards, bus lanes will give priority to public buses and ensure smoother journeys for bus commuters.

For those living at Kampung Admiralty, we pedestrianised a lane along Woodlands Ring Road (between Woodlands Drive 71 and 63), and added covered linkways, a new bus stop and widened footpaths. Pedestrians can now access the space more safely and comfortably than before!

The new bus stop provides residents with direct accessibility to existing bus services 901M and 912/A, enhancing their connectivity to en-route amenities and schools. A cycling path along the repurposed stretch is also in the works, to connect with the wider Woodlands town cycling network from 2024 onwards.

West: A fast track with barrier-free access in Taman Jurong and Choa Chu Kang

Convenient access to key amenities is a great perk for many heartland communities. We’ve identified two new road repurposing projects that are slated to begin in the second half of 2023!

Take a gander the next time you’re in these neighbourhoods and see how we’ll be improving our road infrastructure to better support walking and cycling.

• Yung Sheng Road
  

  We noticed a high number of pedestrians crossing between the Taman Jurong Shopping Centre and Taman Jurong Market and Food Centre. To enhance the safety of pedestrians crossing between the two amenities, an 18-metre-long stretch of Yung Sheng Road will be pedestrianised. With the pedestrianisation, we will also be able to provide a more comfortable walking experience with a new covered linkway and improved barrier-free access.
  
  

• Choa Chu Kang Terrace

  For those visiting Sunshine Place in the West, you can look forward to a new open space after we pedestrianise an 80-metre-long section of Choa Chu Kang Terrace! This proposal will allow for convenient access to and from Sunshine Place, and enhance safety with the removal of pedestrians’ need to interact with traffic. There’s a reason too for boosting our road repurposing efforts here. With Sunshine Place serving as the neighbourhood centre for residents in the vicinity—including the food court—as well as the future opening of the Jurong Region Line (JRL) station along Choa Chu Kang Avenue 3, we anticipate more visitors to the area.

Fun fact: We have also repurposed road spaces for cycling paths.

Singaporeans from all walks of life cycle to stay fit, de-stress, and bond with family and friends. Our cycling path networks are growing more connected and accessible.

Did you know that cycling paths in Singapore are usually at least 2m wide to accommodate travelling in both directions? In Ang Mo Kio and Bukit Panjang, to create enough space for cycling paths, we have repurposed some road space as well. As we expand Singapore’s cycling path network from about 550km today to around 1,300km by 2030, we are also studying the feasibility of repurposing more road space for the cycling paths.

As we continue to repurpose Singapore’s roads; walking, cycling, and taking public transport will become more convenient and pleasant for all.

Keep a lookout for more road repurposing projects as we announce them progressively!