More roads to be built underground; LTA
studying plan to build subterranean roads
Published on Oct 16, 2013
6:23 AM
Singapore's Central Business District, new Marina Bay Downtown and its future southern waterfront district may be linked
by an extensive underground road network beyond 2030. -- ST FILE PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
By Christopher Tan Senior Transport Correspondent
Singapore's Central Business District, new Marina Bay Downtown and its future southern waterfront
district may be linked by an extensive underground road network beyond 2030.
The plan being studied by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will see traffic zipping about unobtrusively
beneath the surface in a series of subterranean ring roads.
Such roads, which free up surface space and improve the liveability of urban areas, are found in cities such
as Brussels, Stockholm, Madrid, Paris, Hamburg and Boston.
Singapore's plan is seen as part of a larger one to accommodate a growing population, and it dates back to
the 1980s.
Then in 1996, the LTA envisioned 30km of two- to four-lane roads forming a pair of concentric rings
under the city centre.
It revisited the idea in the recently released 2013 Land Transport Masterplan, but added that the so-called
Singapore Underground Road System (Surs) will now be more extensive.
"We are now studying how Surs can serve new developments in the Marina Bay area and the new southern
waterfront city that will extend from Keppel Channel to Pasir Panjang Terminal," a spokesman said.
But until exact development plans for these two districts are clearer, he said, the scale and alignment of the
underground roads remain conceptual.
Experts said going underground is inevitable.
Dr Park Byung Joon, head of the urban transport management programme at SIM University, said intense
development is expected for the new downtown areas. Thus, building roads on the surface "may not be
desirable due to the limited supply of land".
Elevated roads may also mar the visual appeal and perceived prestige of a district, he said. Noise is another
consideration.
"The only option left is an underground road network," he said.
He noted that it will be very expensive to build, but the benefits may be justifiable.
Observers said the long gestation of such a network - at least 50 years from concept to implementation held a high cost, as many areas in the city had to be "safeguarded". The term refers to reserving space for a
major infrastructure project to avoid conflicting demands in the future.
But retired traffic engineer Joseph Yee, 68, who was involved in early Surs studies, said: "The cost of not
safeguarding is higher."
Safeguarding ensures that property acquisition is kept to a minimum, for instance.
Going underground is not entirely new to Singapore. The 12km Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, which
opened in 2008, is largely underground. The Marina Coastal Expressway, slated to open by the year end, is
the first to have a stretch going under the seabed.
christan@sph.com.sg
CBD parking high fees and lack of season
carpark spaces drive away many motorists
Published on Oct 16, 2013
6:23 AM
An automated multi-storey car park at the Club Street. The struggle for parking amid a growing carpark crunch in
Singapore's congested CBD means that a sizeable portion of the estimated 200,000 professionals based there choose not to
drive to work. -- PHOTO: SPH
By Melissa Tan
Although he owns a car, Mr Seah Chee Koon, 35, prefers to take the train from his Jurong East home to his
office in the Central Business District (CBD).
"I don't see the need to drive to work. It is too expensive," said Mr Seah, who works in the banking
industry. He spends about 45 minutes commuting each way.
The struggle for parking amid a growing carpark crunch in Singapore's congested CBD means that a
sizeable portion of the estimated 200,000 professionals based there choose not to drive to work.
The parking situation is likely to get worse. Going by a transport masterplan released last week, the Land
Transport Authority (LTA) expects the CBD parking supply to "gradually decrease over time as older
buildings make way for newer buildings".
The district lost 704 carpark spaces in July 2011 after CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) decided to turn
Market Street Carpark, then Singapore's oldest multi-storey carpark, into a new office development called
CapitaGreen.
The next carpark to disappear could be CCT's 10-storey Golden Shoe Carpark on Market Street with 1,053
parking spaces, according to media reports last year.
However, a CCT spokesman said last week there were no definitive plans to redevelop Golden Shoe,
adding that the trust is focusing on its CapitaGreen project, which is expected to be completed at the end of
next year.
The trend towards fewer parking spaces in new buildings is likely to result in higher parking fees and
longer waiting lists for season parking.
The LTA said in its masterplan last week that "parking charges, especially season parking rates, are also
low relative to other major cities". It cited a Colliers International survey done in 2011 that showed that
Singapore's median season parking fee in the CBD was $278.20 per month. This was lower than $919.41
per month in Hong Kong, $918.52 in Tokyo and a stunning $1,337.77 in London for that year.
Colliers said the carparks it looked at were mostly in the Raffles Place and Shenton Way areas.
CBD carparks are diverse. Most are covered, but there are some open-air ones such as the carpark at
Bestway Building.
Prices run from below $300 a month at some older buildings in Raffles Place and Shenton Way to above
$500 a month at newer ones in the Marina Bay area.
Parking fee data for this year is not available, but Colliers said fees are likely to keep climbing.
High fees are not the only bugbear for motorists in the CBD. Those willing to cough up the amount can
find themselves waiting for season parking spaces to become available.
For instance, there were 79 people waiting to get a season parking space at Golden Shoe as at Oct 10.
Season parking there costs $345 a month for both tenants and non-tenants. The queue at Shenton House is
even longer, at more than 100 people. Season parking there costs $330 a month for both tenants and nontenants.
But there are some motorists who still brave the CBD carpark crunch, mainly because of a lack of better
options.
"The important thing is accessibility," said Deutsche Bank banker Vincent Wee, who drives to his office at
One Raffles Quay, where he has a season parking space. "I used to take public transport to work when I
worked in New York and Hong Kong. But in Singapore, it can be difficult to get taxis in the morning."
Speciality recruiter Robert Half director Stella Tang said firms often provide a parking space for
employees in senior positions. But in general, parking in the CBD is not a big issue for people looking for
a job here, she said.
Some firms in the CBD are taking steps to help staff cope with the carpark crunch by making it easier for
them to use other forms of transport such as bicycles.
Citi Singapore, for example, has shower facilities on all floors it occupies at Asia Square for staff who
cycle to work, said its human resources head Evangeline Chua.
Asia Square has secured bicycle bays, lockers and shower facilities that all its tenants share.
But there can be other reasons for not driving to work in the CBD apart from cost and parking supply. Mr
Christopher Calvert, chief executive of Cambridge Industrial Trust, takes the bus to his office at Robinson
Centre every day. "It is the most stress-free part of the day," he said.
melissat@sph.com.sg