Gardens by the Bay, East Coast Park to be linked

Dylan Loh Channel NewsAsia 10 Oct 12;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Gardens by the Bay will be joined to East Coast Park, creating the country's longest continuous stretch of coastal parkland - from the island's north-east to south-central Singapore.

Construction works to link the two are expected to start in late-2013 and finish in end-2014.

The National Parks Board is now studying details of how to bring the two major green spaces closer.

The Eastern Coastal Loop of park connectors currently lets residents in Simei, Bedok, Tampines and Pasir Ris, among other estates, access East Coast Park on bicycle or on foot. When the park is joined to Gardens by the Bay's East section, they can cycle, stroll, or jog to the attraction without using public roads.

Starting from Changi Beach Park, they can cycle through the Coastal Park Connector to East Coast Park, and head to the Bay East Garden of Gardens by the Bay via the new link.

This route measures over 25 km and at more than half the island's length, makes it the country's longest sweep of park space along the coast.

From the Bay East Garden, people can already access the Bay South Garden, where the two cooled conservatories and Supertrees are, by crossing the Marina Barrage at the mouth of the Marina Reservoir.

People can also head to the future Sports Hub from Bay East, by using the Tanjong Rhu Promenade Park Connector, and crossing the Tanjong Rhu suspension bridge.

Construction on the Marina Coastal Expressway is currently being carried out and are set to be completed by end-2013. After that, works to link Gardens by the Bay and East Coast Park will start.

Associate Professor Tan Puay Yok of the Architecture Department at the School of Design and Environment with the National University of Singapore, said: "The terrain itself is not very challenging, I think it's a fairly easy site to work with. And the fact that Singapore has already a fairly large, extensive network of park connectors, means that the design intention, design considerations could be followed for this site."

Currently, cyclists who wish to access Gardens by the Bay from East Coast Park have to exit the park from near the western end of the park along East Coast Park Service Road, and head onto public roads. This will not be necessary anymore when the two green spaces are finally linked.

19-year-old polytechnic student Chang Teck, who is an avid cyclist, is happy with the new link.

He said: "It will be more safe for cyclists like me. Because we don't have to go on the roads and look out for cars...and follow the traffic rules. [With the] straight path to the Gardens by the Bay, we can have a longer route, we can have more recreational activities for cyclists, we can cycle a longer path."

Joining both green spaces also opens up possible new routes for the many organised runs taking place yearly around downtown Singapore.

The National Parks Board's long-term goal is to create a Singapore-wide park connector network, linking up the whole of the island.

-CNA/ac

Linking Gardens by the Bay to Changi
Lim Yan Liang Straits Times 11 Oct 12;

GETTING from Changi Point to the Gardens by the Bay will literally be a walk in the park come 2014.

This will be possible once construction on a park connector linking East Coast Park and the Gardens, scheduled to start next year, is completed, said the National Parks Board (NParks) yesterday.

Responding to media queries, NParks director (Parks) Chia Seng Jiang confirmed that the agency is studying plans to form an uninterrupted stretch of parkland around Singapore's south-eastern shoreline.

"Construction is expected to start by end-2013, and be completed by end-2014," said Mr Chia.

This means that cyclists and joggers will be able to use the Eastern Coastal Loop to get from the north-eastern tip of Singapore to the Gardens, without stepping on a public road. The Eastern Coastal Loop links up parks in the east like Changi Beach Park, Bedok Reservoir Park and East Coast Park through a series of park connectors.

The current tree-lined route from Changi Beach Park to East Coast Parkway is about 18km long. Once the new connector is complete, the total length of the uninterrupted path from Changi to Gardens by the Bay will stretch to about 25km.

Cyclists interviewed by The Straits Times welcomed plans to build the new connector.

Avid recreational cyclist Han Jok Kwang, 58, who has been cycling on park connectors for the past six years, said the new link will make the route from East Coast Parkway to the Gardens "more contiguous". He likened it to the Geylang Park Connector route that seamlessly links Dakota Station to Bay East.

"Today there is a break. You have no choice but to go on the road, and to get to the other side, it's a bit of a chore," said Mr Han, who is the chief information officer of Venture Corp, an electronic manufacturing services provider.

"I think the new connector will be wonderful. It's definitely safer cycling on a park connector than on the road."