Public consultation on reports sees calls for pedestrian zones in heritage-rich areas
More green initiatives, more cycling and more pedestrian zones in heritage areas were some of the key points to emerge from a public consultation exercise on two reports out yesterday.
Members of the public have had their say, with 300 responses received since focus groups released draft reports of their recommendations - on sustainability and identity, and quality of life - in May.
Their final reports were presented yesterday. They in turn will be used to help devise the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Concept Plan 2011, which will set out directions for land use and transport over the next 40 to 50 years.
A draft of the concept plan - they are reviewed once every 10 years - will be released next year and a further public feedback process undertaken.
As yesterday’s reports reflected, public feedback forms a vital part of the process.
The co-chairman of the sustainability focus group, Mr Ong Keng Yong, told The Straits Times that the public had helped to ‘intensify’ certain ideas so they became more practical.
Going green was a hot-button topic, he said, with members of the public offering ‘specific, rational and well-articulated ideas’ on how to take Singapore on a more ecological and greener path without being too confrontational.
Suggestions included setting up a green accreditation body and a system to establish reliable environmental standards for products and services.
‘I was very impressed by the level of awareness and the strong emphasis on the goodness of green from the public and how well-researched and well-articulated their ideas were,’ said Mr Ong, who is director of the Institute of Policy Studies.
There were also suggestions to make streets rich in heritage, art and culture - such as Haji Lane in Kampong Glam and the lanes in Little India - the preserve of pedestrians.
Mr Lee Tzu Yang, the co-chair of the sustainability focus group, said these ideas highlighted the support the public had for preserving Singapore’s heritage and identity. Mr Lee, who chairs Shell’s companies here, added it was encouraging that the public had supported many of the focus group’s initial proposals, with suggestions mostly ‘tinkering and tuning’ their initial recommendations.
Recommendations by the focus group on quality of life also received ‘quite a bit of support and endorsement’, noted Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, president of the National University of Singapore and the group’s co-chairman. In particular, recommendations to provide spaces for intergenerational bonding and measures to make Singapore elderly-friendly received strong support. But some issues, such as cycling, generated more debate - within the group itself and during public feedback.
Some supported the push towards a culture of cycling but others were worried that cyclists made problems for pedestrians.
Mr Ong said generational differences occasionally arose during their discussions and public feedback sessions. While middle-aged people enjoyed seeing traditional business activities in heritage areas like Little India, the younger generation said these jarred with the increasing number of pubs and restaurants.
‘When we see a shop making curry powder using these antiquated machines in Little India, it’s nostalgic for us and part of the sights, sounds and scent of the place. But the younger guys, sometimes they want it moved to industrial areas instead,’ he said.
