SINGAPORE: The sun sets on not one, but two iconic housing estates in Singapore at the turn of the year, with residents at Rochor Centre and Dakota Crescent ordered to move out by end-December. 

Even though most of the affected 400 households in Dakota Crescent have relocated, some have chosen to move out in this last week before the eviction deadline, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said.

When Channel NewsAsia visited the estate near Old Airport Road this week, a handful of residents were in the midst of packing up.

One of them is Mdm Lee Soh Meng, who has lived at Dakota for close to six decades. “Everything feels familiar here, the neighbours are amiable and we greet one another,” said the 81-year-old in Mandarin. Still, she added: “I miss the good old times, where the environment was friendlier.”

Mdm Lee recounts it being a very boisterous neighbourhood in the past. “60 years ago, there were many kids around here and they would fight at the playground,” she said. Those kids have since grown up and moved away as they started their own families.

Dakota Crescent, comprising 17 low-rise rental blocks, was completed in 1958 by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the predecessor to HDB. Known affectionately as the “seven-storey houses”, Dakota Crescent was named in memory of the Dakota DC-3 aircraft that crashed at the Kallang Airport in 1946.

Notice that the estate would have to make way for for new developments as part of plans to rejuvenate Mountbatten’s came two and a half years ago.

Affected residents have been given priority allocation of one or two-room rental flats at a new block, 52 Cassia Crescent, situated about 400m away from their former estate. Two-thirds of the households at Dakota Crescent have one or more elderly member who is at least 60 years old.

A spokesperson said HDB “has been working closely with affected households to move to newer or upgraded rental flats, or even to buy a flat”.

So far, about 90 per cent of the close to 400 affected households have been allocated another rental unit or purchased a sold flat. The remaining 10 per cent are awaiting finalisation of key collection to their new homes. 

Said the HDB spokesperson: “For those who are unable to move out by Dec 31, we will continue to work with them to relocate to their new homes as soon as possible. For example, we will grant extensions to households that have collected keys to their sold flat and require time to carry out renovation work. For tenants who need more help in moving out, we are working closely with the grassroots leaders and social workers to render further assistance to them.”

Mdm Lee expressed optimism about adapting to her new home, noting that neighbourhood amenities, such as the hawker centre and MRT station, are still located within reach.

Unlike Mdm Lee and most of his neighbours, 69-year-old Ng Ah Kiat, is not relocating to Cassia Crescent. “I’ve moved to Choa Chu Kang, but I’m back at my old apartment to take a break,” he said. He spoke to this reporter through the gates, the voice of a Chinese newscaster wafting from the background of the dimly lit apartment.

The living room appeared intact with nary a cardboard box in sight. “I’m planning to dismantle the furniture day by day. I have to do it slowly, or else I will be tired,” Mr Ng grinned.

He has lived in Dakota Crescent since he was nine years old, he shared, listing his favourite dishes from the hawker centre across the road – hor fun, rojak and char kway teow.

“It can’t be helped and it’s only a matter of time that we have to move out,” he said with visible sadness. “I can’t bear to move out as the older HDB apartments are generally more spacious.”

Member of Parliament for Mountbatten SMC Lim Biow Chuan, who has been visiting residents living at the Dakota Crescent rental flats for the past 10 years, told Channel NewsAsia: “Some of the initial reactions from residents were that of reluctance and unhappiness. They were also uncertain where they would be relocated to.”

However some were relieved when the relocation plans were confirmed as they saw that the flats were very old. As they aged, it also became inconvenient for them that the HDB blocks there do not have lifts that stop at every level. “Hence for those residents on wheelchair or are unable to walk properly, it was very difficult for them,” Mr Lim said.

A CHANCE TO MOVE ON

Mr Lim said many residents he met have been increasingly receptive to the move. “They appreciate the fact that they were all being relocated together to a similar neighbourhood. They also appreciate the newer environment and the newer amenities. Some were however, still trying to adjust to the smaller size of the flats.”

Mr Vincent Chan, 70, is one of the residents who has been looking forward to moving to a rental flat at Cassia Crescent. “It’s about time. This place is getting old and there are cockroaches in the house.

“The lift always breaks down too,” the Dakota resident of 36 years said, detailing three instances when he was trapped in the lift. “I have a mobile phone so I can call my son. If not, I’ve to wait 20 to 30 minutes.”

Mr Stephen Teo was another resident who jumped at what the “rare opportunity” to move. Although he moved to Cassia Crescent a month ago, he still makes it a point to take a stroll at his former estate every evening. A stray cat affectionately nicknamed Puss by his wife, is the reason he keeps coming back.

The 57-year-old also said over the past six months, more people have been visiting Dakota Crescent to take photos. “I’m curious too. What’s so special about this place?” he asked. “Because of memories, maybe.”

CONSERVING DAKOTA CRESCENT?

Despite a cloud hanging over the neighbourhood, HDB said blocks 13 and 21 will be retained for interim use as there is no immediate redevelopment plan for the blocks. In the interim, the flats will be rented to Singaporean households who need temporary accommodation, it said.

Separately, the authorities are studying a conservation report submitted by MP Lim Biow Chuan and a group of residents.

In October, he filed a motion in Parliament to push for conservation of the flats and subsequently arranged a meeting with Government agencies involved.

In the motion, he highlighted that Dakota Crescent is older than Singapore, hence “a cause for celebration and it should be an important consideration for conservation”.

He also spoke of Rochor Centre, a place he called home from 1977 to 1990. “I shifted there when I was in Secondary Two and lived there until I married and moved out. I had spent the better part of my growing up years in that estate,” he told Parliament.

“It was at Rochor Centre that I started volunteering as a grassroots leader because I wanted to improve the condition of the estate. It saddens me that the four multi-coloured blocks of flats which carries 40 years of memories for those residents would disappear soon,” he said.

Several meetings were held with the small group led by Mr Lim and they met with Urban Redevelopment Authority and National Heritage Board officials in the process, said Mr Lim. 

One occupant hoping the estate will be conserved is Tian Kee & Co cafe. “Running a cafe in Dakota is akin to running a modern cafe back in the 80s,” said Tian Kee & Co’s manager C K Foo. “As I grew up in a kampung, this estate brought back memories of my childhood days when I first visited this shop house in 2013.”

The cafe, in the heart of Dakota Crescent, will have to relinquish its premises by Dec 30. “I wanted to bring the lost kampung spirit back into this long forgotten neighbourhood,” said Mr Foo, explaining why he took over the digs of a former provision shop at block 12.

Despite the cafe’s hipster clientele attracted by its Instagram-friendly rainbow cheesecake and all-day breakfast options, it was comforting seeing the elderly residents of Dakota bringing friends for afternoon ‘kopi’ sessions, he said. “The residents know that they are always welcome here.”

“Hopefully Dakota Crescent will be conserved and Tian Kee & Co can go back to where it belongs,” said Mr Foo.

SINGAPORE: Twin sisters Woo Li Ling and Woo Li Shan jumped on the cycling bandwagon about five years ago after joining an online cycling group. Li Ling, 55, now says cycling is a constant in her life. She rides from her home in Toa Payoh to her Jurong East workplace every day, and takes her bike with her whenever she travels.

But Li Shan has not quite caught on yet. “I don’t cycle much mainly because of the traffic,” she said. “Usually I go on the bus lane because bus lane allows bicycles, but it’s not nice to occupy the bus lane when the buses are all behind me.”

Cycling enthusiasts Woo Li Ling and Woo Li Shan. (Photo: Kenneth Lim)

Still, both are in sync when it comes to what they would like the authorities to do to encourage people to give cycling a go.

“I first had a fear of cycling on the road because Singapore roads are so congested,” Li Ling said. “And although I ride everyday to work now, I start early, before the traffic becomes heavy. I’d like to have more PCN (park connector networks) along the roads, like what they have at Ang Mo Kio and Tampines.””

Ang Mo Kio is Singapore’s first “walking and cycling” town, launched in July 2016. A 4km cycling path loops around Ang Mo Kio Avenues 1, 3 and 8, taking residents to nearby amenities like the MRT station. The network will be the longest of any town once it is completed in 2019, authorities say, and give cyclists a direct route to the city.

The Ang Mo Kio initiative and others like it reflects Singapore’s desire to push its citizens to adopt public and alternative transport, with an emphasis on reducing car use. This comes even as the city-state grapples with an ageing rail network and land constraints, which affect its ability to build more car parks and roads.

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), every HDB town will have its own cycling network by 2030, including new HDB precincts and BTO projects, like Bidadari,Tampines North and the new BTO projects in Sembawang and Yishun. Cycling links in Bishan, Buangkok, Dakota, Dover, Potong Pasir, Woodlands, and Yew Tee are completed, while those in Clementi, Hougang, Marsiling, Promenade, and Sengkang will completed by end 2016.

“What we hope to see is really over the next 10 to 15 years, to see an increase in terms of uptake,” says LTA’s director of Active Mobility Tan Shin Gee. “It’s about 1.5 per cent of people who cycle in Singapore, so we hope to grow that three to four times.” 

Ms Tan was citing a 2012 LTA large-scale household interview and travel survey done once every five years,focusing on commuters’ travel patterns. The next edition of the survey will be conducted next year.

Besides launching more cycling networks, Singapore will also join the ranks of cycling cities like New York and London next year with its first-ever bicycle-sharing program in the Jurong Lake District – which promises more than 1,000 bicycles and 100 docking stations. Such programs have “catalysed the uptake of cycling” in other cities, Ms Tan said.

USE OF PERSONAL MOBILITY DEVICES ON THE RISE

2016 has also seen more commuters use personal mobility devices like e-scooters and hoverboards on Singapore streets. In December, LTA embarked on a six-month trial, allowing people to take their devices on board trains and buses during peak hours for the very first time. Since then, LTA says it has seen 10 to 15 people do so at each station every day during the morning peak period.

“So far the numbers have not been large, but it’s something we will continue to monitor and as we go along perhaps adjust the rules of codes of conduct,” Ms Tan said.

For example, the new Active Mobility Act will be passed in Parliament next year – spelling out the speed limits, penalties, and other guideline for commuters using such devices.

But beyond the numbers, Ms Tan said the aim is “to see a change in terms of peoples’ openness to these active modes”.

“In the medium to long term you would regard walking or cycling or using these personal mobility devices as commonplace as hopping on a bus or a train,” Ms Tan says.

But besides making it easier to walk and cycle, one researcher says Singapore’s climate also needs to be taken into account.

“At the end of the day, it also means that it’s not just mere statistics that we say 80 per cent is within 10 minutes walk or households are within a 10-minute walk of train stations,” says CPG transport consultant Vincent Loh. “We need to ensure that walking is good, comfortable, should be able to attract someone on the sidelines desiring whether to own a car, to purchase a car or to take public transport. So if you make public transport really attractive, I think we could wean off some of this desire.”

Mr Loh’s work focuses, among others, on urban design – and making roads or neighbourhoods more accessible to pedestrians. He has proposed that authorities can turn more disused infrastructure, like the Rochor Canal, into linear parks – one way he says countries like Japan have made walking a way of life.

“I think certainly we are always on the lookout to see how we can make our infrastructure fit in better with the surroundings, appeal more to people,” Ms Tan said, when asked about Mr Loh’s proposals.

LTA aims to build about 150 kilometres more sheltered walkways by 2018. And from July this year, commercial developers must submit their plans complete with shelters and crossings for cyclists and pedestrians.

CAN WE KILL THE DRIVE TO … DRIVE?

But Mr Loh also says that it is one thing to make public transport more attractive. More steps are needed for Singapore to go car-lite.

“We need to still, I believe, have the other aspect, the other element of vehicle restraint,” he said. “I don’t think we can move away from that.”

Singapore was among the first cities to adopt vehicle restraint measures like electronic road pricing (ERP), and auctions for car quotas. Public car park rates have risen this year for the first time in 14 years, and Mr Loh said such policies are likely to continue.

“The issue is whether the provision of car park is at the expense of space for other users in the city and elsewhere,” he said.” At the end of the day we want to have more of this space to cater to the larger population which are going to use these facilities. “

But as many in the transport sector say -“car lite” doesn’t mean “car-less”, with shared cars still having to play a part in getting people from point to point.

To that end, Singapore’s first large-scale electric car-sharing programme will be launched in 2017, starting in towns like Ang Mo Kio, Jurong East and Punggol. Private hire companies like Uber and Grab have also come out with similar schemes.

But ultimately, those we spoke to say that a car-lite society is possible if Singaporeans takes that first step away from their cars, and shift their travelling habits.

“We hope that over time that beyond the infrastructure plans and the policies we have been changing over time, that we also have the support of the community to get this movement going,” Ms Tan said.

“As cyclists, we also have to be responsible,” added Ms Woo Li Ling. “If we are friendly to the drivers, to the motorists, they are friendly to us.”

SINGAPORE: Electricity tariffs will rise by an average of 5.7 per cent or 1.07 cents per kWh for the period of Jan 1 to Mar 31, compared to the previous quarter, power provider SP Services announced on Friday (Dec 30).

The tariff increase is due to the higher cost of natural gas for electricity generation, which increased by 10.6 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

For households, the electricity tariff will increase from 19.13 to 20.20 cents per kWh for this period. The average monthly electricity bill for families living in four-room HDB flats will increase by S$4.30, SP Services added.