Plans to step up Singapore's car-lite strategy

Singapore's car-lite strategy will be stepped up in a big way, with more measures planned to wean drivers off cars, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong in Parliament yesterday, reported The Straits Times. These measures were unveiled yesterday in Parliament.

First, developers will be required to incorporate the needs of pedestrians and cyclists upfront in their development plans. Developers will have to review the locations of bicycle parking facilities and their vehicular access points, and have to take into account key pedestrian and cyclist access routes to minimise conflict among users. He added that these were critical for developments with high footfall, such as schools, shopping malls, office buildings and business parks.

Second, seamless cycling routes to the Central Business District (CBD) could also be built from six housing estates - Bishan, Geylang, Marine Parade, Hougang, the Bukit Timah or Central area, and Queenstown - that are within a 30-minute cycling distance to the city. 
These areas are already linked by park connectors to the city, but Mr. Wong noted that these routes were not seamless, and there were gaps along the way that would be plugged.

Third, the Government may even raise carpark charges to manage the use of cars. Mr. Wong said carpark charges here were already lower than those in other cities and the Government would not lower parking charges or make them free. In fact, it may have to do the reverse and raise charges as Singapore becomes car-lite, he said.