A green corridor to East Coast Park

3.8km link is part of ambitious makeover and will provide easier access from Bedok
Andrea Ong Straits Times 16 Jan 11;

Sports enthusiasts, food lovers and families looking for recreational spots in the east will find it easier to get to their playgrounds.

A new 3.8km green corridor linking up the popular East Coast Park with Bedok Town Centre, as well as Bedok Reservoir, will be built over the next five years.

This means that Singaporeans will be able to walk - taking about 20 minutes, or cycle directly from the MRT station or bus interchange in Bedok, to either of the two recreational spots.

It is part of a larger 'ambitious' makeover for the East Coast, and comes on top of previously announced plans for a revitalised Bedok town with a new food centre, an integrated sports complex, a mall and an air-conditioned bus interchange.

Also in the pipeline is a cycling network connecting schools, parks and MRT stations in an area stretching from Kaki Bukit to Tanah Merah.

Unveiling the details yesterday at Bedok Town Centre, Senior Minister S. Jayakumar, an MP for East Coast GRC, called the makeover an 'ambitious' one that 'will benefit not only residents of East Coast but also other Singaporeans'.

The vision is 'to be the Gateway to the East Coast', he said. 'This means giving everyone greater access to what the East Coast is best known for - a great place to have fun, leisure and good food.'

The makeover is part of the $1 billion second phase of the Remaking Our Heartland programme to rejuvenate mature estates over the next five years. The other two towns selected are Hougang and Jurong Lake.

MPs from the three GRCs - East Coast, Marine Parade and Aljunied - benefiting from East Coast's makeover were also present at an exhibition on the new plans, where the public can give their feedback. It is at Bedok Town Centre and runs till Wednesday.

So far, they are getting the thumbs-up from residents.

Madam Siti Rohdiah, 37, a personal assistant who lives in Changi, visits East Coast Park once a month with her family to relax and eat their favourite barbecued chicken wings at the food centre there.

'Now, we have to travel there by taxi or bus. The bus ride can take more than an hour because we have to transfer buses twice,' she said. 'We will most definitely use the new corridor.'

Currently, there is no direct route for non-drivers to get from Bedok Reservoir to East Coast Park. They have to take buses or use the 6km Bedok Park Connector. Those coming from Bedok Town Centre have to traverse the expressway and roads via underpasses, or take a bus.

Now, the new cycling and pedestrian path, which runs parallel to Bedok North Avenue 1 and Bedok South Avenue 1, will cut travelling time. It will also be lined with gardens and sports facilities.

Meanwhile, a new integrated sports facility will be built in Bedok North Street 1, replacing the existing Kampong Chai Chee Community Centre, Bedok Sports and Recreation Centre (SRC) and swimming complex. The current SRC will be used for housing developments and a new stadium.

The bustling Bedok Town Centre will also be given a new lease of life, said SM Jayakumar, with a transport hub that incorporates a mall, the new bus interchange and a condominium.

It will also have a new hawker centre with a multi-storey carpark, built next to the existing one.

The existing site will be developed into a town plaza for community events.

Lastly, an 11km heritage foot trail will be built. Tracing the old Upper Changi Road, it contains information boards on the area's history and links up famous food spots at Simpang Bedok and Siglap.

Speaking to the media, SM Jayakumar called the Remaking Our Heartland developments 'town council plans, plus plus'. Many of the projects involving multiple agencies are beyond the town council's purview and budget, he noted.

As Bedok's MP for 30 years, SM Jayakumar said the area has seen a 'total change' over the years.

'But things cannot stand still. With other new towns coming and new estates, we have to move on with the times and see how we can have a total remake of this area,' he said.

Gateway to East Coast
S Ramesh and Mustafa Shafawi Channel NewsAsia 15 Jan 11;

SINGAPORE : Plans for the "Gateway to the East Coast" were unveiled on Saturday as part of the S$1 billion Remaking Our Heartlands (ROH) programmes for three areas announced a week ago by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

Senior Minister S Jayakumar, who is an MP for East Coast GRC, said the plans once realised, will benefit not only those living in the East Coast but other Singaporeans too.

Plans to remake the area will focus on improving homes, revitalising the town centre and providing more recreational choices.

"Much of East Coast is an ageing estate. Therefore to make people feel that it is an exciting place to live and work in, you have to have constant upgrading. But this is not ad hoc upgrading. We are pulling all the pieces together, and many agencies have come forward. In five to six years time, when you come here, it will be completely transformed, it is exciting," said Professor Jayakumar.

Over the next five years, the Bedok Town centre will be transformed into a vibrant new hub with a new air-conditioned bus interchange.

Stallholders at the food centre at Block 207 Upper Changi Road have been very much concerned about the re-development plans for this area. Under the Remaking Our Heartlands plans for the East Coast , there will be a new food centre built next to their food centre and it is expected to be be ready by 2014.

The stallholders hope that the new food centre would continue to be managed by the HDB or the National Environment Agency, to keep rentals low.

To preserve the history of the East Coast, a Heritage Corner will be built at the new Town Plaza in 2015.

HDB will create a physical heritage foot trail, which traces the early road network of the East Coast area.

And for the first time, Bedok Reservoir and the East Coast Park will be directly linked by a corridor.

The new green spine will enable cyclists and pedestrians to get across from both areas.

A comprehensive cycling network will be introduced within the East Coast area to enhance cycling connectivity to MRT stations, major employment areas, parks, schools and neighbourhood centres.

Sports enthusiasts can also look forward to a new integrated sports facility located within the town centre.

It will house a swimming complex, sports hall, tennis centre and a community centre.

The ROH plans for East Coast were announced a week after plans for Hougang have been made public.

Plans for the Jurong Lake area will be launched next weekend.

- CNA /ls