Tampines cycling network to be tripled by 2022

People cycling on a bike path between Tampines Street 83 and 82 on 22 November 2014. The bike path is part of Tampines’ Green Connector – a 1km-long bike path running between housing blocks in the middle of the neighbourhood off Tampines Avenue 3.

The length of the cycling network in Tampines will be tripled by 2022. Footpaths will also be widened and roads redesigned, to make walking and cycling safer and more convenient for residents.

These and other details to help Tampines go “car-lite” and transform it into Singapore’s second walking and cycling town were revealed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) on Monday (Sept 25).

In five years’ time, the cycling network in Tampines will be tripled from 6.9km to about 21km, linking up the town’s three MRT stations, homes, schools and other amenities such as food centres and community clubs.

This will put it on a par with test bed Ang Mo Kio, the island’s first walking and cycling town, which itself will have 20km worth of cycling paths by 2020.

The Government announced in March that Tampines had been earmarked as the second walking and cycling town.

The LTA said in a press release on Monday that existing cycling paths in Tampines will be widened and bicycle crossings will be improved, with more signs and markings.

Besides cyclists, pedestrians will also benefit from the town’s transformation, with wider footpaths and barrier-free ramps.

Roads will be redesigned to include features such as two-stage crossings, so that the elderly can take a breather when they cross.

The measures are expected to further boost the use of bicycles as a commuting option in Tampines, which was dubbed Singapore’s first cycling town in 2010, with amended by-laws allowing cyclists to legally share pavements with pedestrians.

The LTA said it is working with the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Tampines community to draw up the plans, and will be calling a design consultancy tender subsequently.

Down the road, there are also plans to build trunk cycling routes between Tampines and neighbouring towns Pasir Ris and Simei, as well as to the Changi Business Park and the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre.

For this, the LTA said it is studying the feasibility of constructing a cycling bridge over the Tampines Expressway to link up Tampines and Pasir Ris, and a cycling underpass to connect Tampines to Simei.

The Government’s plan is to construct cycling paths in all 26 Housing Board towns by 2030, contributing to an islandwide network of 700km.

The current network, which includes the park connector network, is now more than 400km.