Publication: The New Paper, p 4 & 5 Date: 21 March 2011 Headline: Transport woes are top issue

This is the 1 0th in The New Paper series on single-member constituencies

Sengkang West by the numbers Number of voters 26,469

Typesofhomes: 100% public housing + - -

ST ALE PICTURE

. . m I D R S P m : (Above) Atrain at Renjong LRT station. (Right) Mr Marcus Chan, with his nine-year-old daughter, finds the LRT system confusing.

In Sengkar~g West SMC, the residelltss main concern is the p u b l i c ~ r t ~ ~

Breakdown of HDB flats: More than 80% are foursroom flats and larger.

REPORT: AMANDA YONG, FOO JIE YWG and JENNIFER DHANARAJ tnp&ph.cam.sq

m HE momin~rush hour can be a s t r d time for B ' 5

1 those head;lgto work For Mr Yasm Jilalludin, 40, a senior freght oIEer,

the tensions of the dady commute are compounded by lonewa~bm times for buses. rt r

, few years, v&le more childcare c e n w and kindergar- tens will be set up to cater to the young fbdies in the constituency, Dr Lam said.

Age: 41 These have not gone unnoticed by residents. Pmfession: Madam Anita, who is married with a one-year-old kociate ~0nSIJltant son, said: ‘"Ihis estate is pretty tailored to young work- at KK Women's and ing couples. There are a lot of infant care centres and Children'sHospital p~oolstocatertoparentswthyoungchildren." Years in ward: Five Political observer Eugene Tan said such municipal

k s usu; routine is to take bus service 163 from a bus stop along Sengkang East Avenue before changing to another bus that takes him to his 05ce at the airport.

His Bat at Anchorvale Link is a five-minute walk from the bus stop.

But his journey is often stalled light fromthe start "Bus 163 can run very late sometimes. If1 miss the ,

7. loam bus. I have to wait about 25 minutes for the nex&

We asked 100 Sengkang West residents What Is the most hnportant issue yw would raise with ihe candidatas h e n they vkit you?

M V M C l p U l r ~ : 12'!! P U M i c ~ i n h W ~ ~ c t u m 4 1 % JnsuITicient amenities such as &, sheltmdwahays, foodcourts and calparklo6: 22% Qeanlinessofestate: 3% Safetyinestate:3%

w Others:3%

issues are "the sort of -issues that plague the newer MI) towns" and are a "perrnnial problem innew estates".

Workers' Party, Mr Tan, a law academic at the S i p o r e Manage- Singapore ment University, said residents in a young estate like

~~~~~ti~.lli~~~~ Sengkang West expect to have the same facilities as

and Mr Ooi Ewe thosefoundinamaturetown

of ti18 People's These expectations become demands when elec-

Uberal Democratic tions are aroundthe comer.

Party. If the problem has existed since the last el-

progress has been too slow, residents may be wary of

bus," he said.

the bus stop or fills up quicldy at the crowded bus stop, TNP PICTURE: IUWIWM VOW6 leaving him with no

space to geton board. T 2 ~ ' f 0 r bun B U ~ to take t b ~ ~ the r I%ht a longer Rad Transport woes journey that Involves a fewsworn

&&er promises by the mcumbent MP, he said "But they're r&hc at the same time. They know

requestfa b i - w o n a l *dce, ,fWanted, to hr that the opposition will face W a r di5culties, and If serve the residents' needs," he said. this is the dmg party and they can't exert pressure on

~1 am said he has &en feedback on service the transport . comparues, . *t more the O P P ~ ~ O ~ the LRT tram statlon fmm Tongkang - a are top issue ten-mute walk fmm his 0at - on the Seng- kang West LRT h e to Sengkang LRT stanon

Housingpliees:3% 163 to SBS rans sit and 6 e LTA and asked for increased p5yg&",\terest in this SMC is stmng, with the W Omers:3% bus fquencyto shortenwaiting times.

TheLTAis cmentlylookingintotherequest posslVityof afour-horse race.

,We have also added a bus sedce 85 that plies The WodCers' Piuty (WP) and DemoWac

D~ am Pin Min, who has been t a b care of the *ush &-!Z . . West from . Fernvale to Anch~mde m $ ~ ~ ~ ~ & ~ = ~ $ Lim and SDA Then he switches to the ht LRT loop service, one stop The remaulderhad complaints about the LRT, wth find it confusing. If old people get on the wrong train,

away at R~~~~ LRT stahon, where he can finally most complahmg about the long waiting times as the they get stuckonit andcanget lost," hesaid. tllrO. hrlc tn th0nffir0 @am are packed during peak hours and travel in only Residents in the SMC also say there are insu5cient

Sengkang West ward since 2006, is aware of the con- a n d ~ a S S V a l e e " he s ~ ~ . ~emtary-~eneral ~esmond Lim wek mum about any cems of residents in this new constiNency. Dr Lam said the request for an ATM at Block 308 in Parties,

In last month's electoral boundaries report, Seng- f i o d e i s a l o ~ t a n d i n s o n ~ . Said Mr Iim: 'We are not able to comment as negoti- kang West was carved out of Ang Mo Kio GRC to form 'We have written to sewd banks in the Past, and ,tiom , saongoinp~ anSMC. they have surveyed the area and decided that the hu- Why the int- in this sMc?

Dr Lam said the ooll results are an accurate reBec- man there is not high enough to justify an ~r wdeclined to comment.

-.- - -- .- -.- ---. Mr Yasin's m p o r t woes are shared by many other one *tionduringnon-~ed hours. amenities such as ATMs, markets, sheltered walkways,

Sengkang West residents. Othets said the LRTsysternitseIf~ confusing. foodcouts and carparklots. The NewPapefs poll of 100 residents who belong to "It's VW dif6dt to understand because after a This concern ranked second in the ~ o l l with 22 resi-

thesngkangwestwmember c o m t i t u e n ~ certain time, it goes in only one direction. When my dentsbotheredby i t showed that oubhc ~ = m m e is theirbk- friends come tovisit, they always getlost,"saidMr Mar- "It's not very convement around here. The nearest

tionof the concerns on the ground. And some progress has been made after his meet-

ings with the Land Transport Authority (LTA). and SBS Transit, which operates the LRT, he said.

For instance, the LRT used to operate in only one direction due to low ridership.

But with a larger population and higher adership, SBS Transit has started bi-directional services for the LRT during peakhours since the begimhgof last year.

'We are monitoring the situation closely and will

They also cited the proximity to Compass Point as another reason forthe rejection," he said

He intends to appeal to the b& again. Dr Lam added that over the past few years, facilities

such as Femvale Point, Sengkang Sports and Renea- tion Centre, new schools and childcare c e n m have SPrungUP.

With a growing population, a better transport net- workand more facilities will be needed.

Two more primary schools will be built in the next

But Ms Lim said: "WP is interested to contest in Sengkang West SMC as it is located close to Aljunied GRC and Hougang SMC"

Mr Ooi Boon Ewe, chairman of the People's Liberal Democratic Party* has also thmwn his hat into the ring.

He said he is keen on contesting in the ward as he has been a resident there for the past 6II~yea1s.

Mr Ooi, who lives in Fernvale, said: "It's my kam- pung. I live with them (the residents), swim with them, play badminton with them; it's anadvantage for me."

gest bugbea;(see repo&nfacingpage.) - cus Chan, 37, anengineer. Of the residents who were polled at Anchorvale and He takes the LRT to get to the MRT station, where he

Femvale,4lsaidtheywouldraisethisissue~- takesthemaintotownonceamonth. dates. On weekdays, he drives to his 05ce located outslde

About half of this p u p shared Mr Yasin's frusaa- the city area tions about long waiting times for bus service 163, the And even he can get confused about which train to only one that phes between Femvale Lane and Seng- take sometimes. kang Bus Interchange. "This needs to be addressed because even residents

ATM is at Compass Point, about a 20-minute walk away," said Mr Yasin "You can't expect old people to 1

walkall the way there every time they need money." Madam Anita Mariappan, 30, a teacher, said more

shelteredwahays should be built. "There aren't enough sheltered walkways in the

estate, so you'll see residents walking along the mad, which can bequitedangerous," she said.

Source: The New Paper O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.