SINGAPORE: The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has concluded a study on improving connectivity along the Kallang River and is seeking public feedback on its recommendations, it said on Tuesday (Apr 11).
Ideas were sought in 2015 to see if the 10km Kallang Park Connector, which links Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and Kallang Riverside Park, can be improved so that it can serve as a seamless cycling route.
Currently, there are certain points along the route where cyclists have to dismount, make long detours or carry their bicycles along overhead bridges.
Presenting details of the study, URA said findings include upgrading two existing underpasses under the Central Expressway (CTE) and at Geylang Road.
For example, the CTE underpass, which is now dimly lit and with a low height clearance, will be deepened and widened. It will also feature garden-like settings and public seating, turning it into a gathering space for the community, the authority said.
A wider and deeper crossing beneath the CTE could also function as a gathering space for the community. (Image: URA)
The study also suggested building four new underpasses at Kallang Bahru Road, Upper Boon Keng Road and Sims Avenue to make travel faster and more seamless.
In areas where underpasses are not feasible, such as along Serangoon and Bendemeer roads, the study proposes adding traffic junctions so that pedestrians and cyclists do not have to walk a distance to climb existing overhead bridges.
The most challenging crossing for cyclists, however, is the overhead bridge over the 16-lane Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Currently, cyclists have to carry their bicycles up and down flights of stairs on the bridge, then cycle a short distance on narrow sidewalks in a housing estate before rejoining the park connector.
That could soon change with the URA study, which noted that one solution is to create an elevated spiral crossing ending at an empty plot of land along the river which has the potential to be transformed into a park. The proposed bridge also has a gradual incline, making it wheelchair friendly.
A proposed spiral “active mobility” bridge spanning the PIE. (Image: URA)
There are also plans to enhance that length of the river, by widening the now narrow sidewalk and putting in a boardwalk.
Last month, URA raised five broad ideas on the rejuvenation of the Kallang River as part of a preliminary conceptual plan for the rejuvenation of the Kallang River and announced that it would be seeking public feedback at an exhibition called A River Runs Through It.
The exhibition runs at The URA Centre Atrium from Mar 29 to May 2, 9am to 6pm, Mondays to Fridays.
It is now seeking feedback on the recommendations raised in the study at the same exhibition and will refine the proposals after the exhibition ends, said URA.
