Christopher Tan, Straits Times 10 Dec 11;
SIX private properties and two public plots along Upper Paya Lebar Road will be affected by land acquisition so that the dual three-lane road can be expanded to add one more lane in each direction.
It is the second time in about a decade that properties in the area are making way for a road project, and the fourth time this year that announcements of road projects involve land acquisition.
Despite the newly completed Kal-lang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and Bartley-Tampines Viaduct, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said Upper Paya Lebar Road needs to be widened to better connect residents in the north-east to the growing industrial hub in Paya Le-bar, Ubi and Eunos.
An LTA spokesman said Upper Paya Lebar Road sees a traffic volume of 3,500 vehicles an hour during the morning and evening peak periods. 'It takes about three changes of traffic lights to clear key junctions,' she added.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said five private properties along the 1.3km stretch between Boundary and Bartley roads will have part of their plots acquired. A sixth - a backlane behind a row of shops - will be completely acquired.
The five affected are Lam Soon Tang Chong Huay, which houses a clan association; Fa Hua Monastery, a Buddhist institution; antiques trader Just Anthony; the open carpark space in front of shophouses near How Sun Road; and part of the carpark of Da Jin Factory.
The private plots to be acquired add up to 1,608 sq m.
The expanded road will also eat into 1,468 sq m of public land. These are the green spaces in front of Blocks 158 to 161 in Hougang Street 11, and state land leased out to Lincoln Collegiate of Business & Technology near Lorong Lew Lian.
The SLA said land owners have been notified, and the authority will take over the plots by the end of next year. Compensation amounts will be announced between June and September.
The LTA will start work in the middle of next year, and complete it by 2014.
For residents and businesses in the area, this is not the first time that the road is encroaching onto their land.
In 1998, 15 units in Elling Court in Upper Paya Lebar Road and 12 units from an unnamed development were acquired for the Bartley Road extension. Plant nurseries at the junction of Bartley and Upper Paya Lebar roads had to go too.
Shortly after that, more properties made way for the KPE. A total of 17 homes and 121 commercial properties occupying 48,000 sq m of land in the vicinity and elsewhere were demolished.
Land acquisitions for road projects made the news this year.
They include the North-South Expressway Phase 1, where 56,000 sq m was acquired, including 25 terrace houses in Marymount Terrace.
North-South Expressway Phase 2, announced recently, involves nearly 25,000 sq m of land to be acquired. Although a relatively small plot, it affects 567 Housing Board flats and 187 shops and eating houses, and three communal facilities - making it the single biggest property acquisition here.
The biggest land consumption project announced this year, however, does not affect the living, but the dead.
In September, the LTA said a new road will run through Bukit Brown cemetery to alleviate jams in Lornie Road. The project, which will affect some 5,000 out of 100,000 graves there, has incurred the ire of conservationists.
The latest project to widen Upper Paya Lebar Road has raised some concerns too.
Mr Gary Ang, 42, co-owner of Tai Seng Turtle Soup restaurant, will be affected when part of an open carpark area in front of his row of shophouses goes.
He said almost all his customers drive to his eatery. 'Customers are already complaining that they can't find parking space,' he said. 'We might move out. We are already looking for a new place.'
Engineer Edward Tan, 46, who lives in the area, said traffic is relatively free-flowing even during peak hours for those who use the underpass to or from Paya Lebar Road.
But those using the surface road to turn into Bartley Road in the morning face a jam primarily because of parents dropping off their children at Maris Stella High School.
These vehicles often occupy two lanes of Bartley Road, causing a tailback of traffic coming from Paya Lebar and Upper Paya Lebar roads. 'It clears up once you pass Maris Stella,' he said.
Observers point out that traffic along Upper Paya Lebar Road may soon spike as a number of landed property plots are converted into condominium projects.
Neither the LTA nor SLA had information on other road-related land acquisitions. SLA did not comment when asked if there would be more in the near term.
Road-widening work to ease congestion along Upper Paya Lebar Road
Sumita Sreedharan Today Online 10 Dec 11;
SINGAPORE - An additional lane will be added in both directions to a 1.3km stretch of Upper Paya Lebar Road by 2014 to help ease traffic congestion and meet future needs.
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), this stretch currently experiences high traffic volumes - especially at key junctions and intersections during peak hours - and sees an average of 3,500 vehicles per hour.
By 2020, traffic along this road is expected to increase by about 25 per cent due to redevelopment and growth of the area. When widening work is completed, the LTA said the road would provide motorists with better connectivity to areas in Paya Lebar, Ubi and Eunos.
To facilitate the widening work, the Government will acquire 1,608.2 sq m of private land along Upper Paya Lebar Road under the Land Acquisition Act.
No residential areas would be affected in the acquisition, said the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) yesterday, as they would comprise the backlane of a row of shophouses, and the frontages, such as open spaces and grass verges, of five properties.
For example, a building extension of Fa Hua Monastery, which runs along the perimeter of the compound, will have to be demolished. Reverend Zhen Ding, who is in charge of the monastery, was concerned about the devotees' safety as the worship area will now be closer to the road. The LTA said it would be reinstating the boundary wall, the front façade and the roof and the monastery would be compensated.
An open car park in How Sun Road will also be affected. With a shortage of available parking, Mr Gary Ang, the owner of Tai Seng Turtle Soup restaurant, intends to relocate his business. "Ninety per cent of our customers drive here," he explained. "Some even call me to reserve the car park for them."
The back lane of a row of shophouses near Paya Lebar Crescent will be converted into a service road for the loading and unloading of goods.
The SLA and LTA said yesterday they would continue to be in touch with the affected landowners to assist them with their queries and concerns, and to minimise disruption to their operations.
The affected landowners were informed from last Thursday about the acquisition and their land would be acquired by December next year. Widening work for the road will start in the middle of next year, but work on the affected private lands will only start in 2013.
Partial acquisition of Upper Paya Lebar Rd to ease congestion
Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 9 Dec 11;
SINGAPORE: A part of Upper Paya Lebar Road will be widened by 2014 to improve traffic flow between the residential areas in the Northeast, and the industrial parks in Aljunied, Ubi and Eunos.
The 1.3-kilometre stretch is between Upper Serangoon Road and Bartley Road.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said a lane will be added in each direction of the carriageway, to relieve existing peak-hour congestion and meet anticipated future increase in traffic.
LTA said that with redevelopment and growth in these areas, the traffic along Upper Paya Lebar Road is expected to increase by up to 25 per cent by 2020.
Some private land along the affected road, amounting to 1,608.2 square metres, will be acquired for the widening works.
This includes the backlane of a row of shophouses near Paya Lebar Crescent, which will be converted into a service road for the loading and unloading of goods.
Another five properties will also face partial acquisition.
This includes the grass verge of the Lam Soon Tang Chong Huay, nine car park lots of Da Jin Factory and the open space at Just Anthony Furniture Shop.
The Fa Hua Monastery will also have to bid farewell to a building extension, which was constructed without approval from the authorities three years ago.
The monastery runs half yearly camps for 100 children during school holidays, and participants sleep in the hall.
Its supervisor - Reverend Zhen Ding - said such activities will now have to be scaled back.
LTA said it will rebuild the compound wall after the acquisition.
An open car park in front of some shophouses along How Sun Road will also be affected, with eight car park lots acquired.
Shop owners told Channel NewsAsia that having fewer car park lots will hurt their business.
As it is, there's already a shortage of available parking, said Gary Ang, the owner of Tai Seng Turtle Soup restaurant.
"The car park (situation) here is quite terrible. It's free parking. A lot of people come and park, like the lorries. They park at night, (and) drive away next morning.
"I think we will relocate our shop. Because 90 per cent of our customers drive here. Now my customers don't come. Some even call me to reserve the car park for them."
The back lane of a row of shophouses near Paya Lebar Crescent will also be acquired, to be converted into a service road for unloading goods.
Channel NewsAsia understands there were plans to convert the lane into a car park to ease the parking situation, but plans will now be shelved.
But owners of a coffee powder factory said unloading of goods at the back, will mess up their operations.
Cynthia said: "We roast our coffee bean here, and we need a clean place. If you unload the coffee bean from the back, they will dirty my place and there're a lot of dust here."
Landowners will receive their notices on Friday.
The affected lands will be acquired by December 2012.
Widening works for the road will start in mid-2012, but works on the affected private lands will only start in 2013.
- CNA/ck