The Chief Planner for the Urban Redevelopment Authority says cyclists, pedestrians and drivers, should emulate New York's cycling culture and anticipate what each is doing, to accommodate everyone on the road.
Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 22 Jun 15;
NEW YORK: Two weeks ago, non-profit organisation Public Space Party threw a bike party along Fifth Avenue in New York City. Nine museums along the stretch opened their doors to the public, and parts of the road were closed off to cars.
"Everyone's biking. Everyone has fun, there's dancing along the way, and events and food. And the more that we encourage that, the more we can get people on bikes,” said co-founder of Public Space Party Monica Hunken, a teacher.
Public Space Party’s other co-founder Benjamin Shepard, a college professor, said getting more people on bikes means less cars on the streets.
"Some of the hottest summers on record have been in the last few summers so global warming is a reality. We have a planet that's getting hotter and hotter so we need less cars, less carbon emissions, we need to get rid of cars on the streets,” he said.
The group was started by Ms Hunken and her friends just last year, but they have been organising bike outings for more than a decade. The outfit also highlights issues of sustainable urban development and public spaces.
Mr Lim Eng Hwee, Chief Planner and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) shared his experience of cycling in New York, which has a culture he believes Singapore should emulate.
"The different users on the road, whether you're a cyclist, pedestrian or driver, somehow they can anticipate what the other user groups will do and they can adapt to each other. They give way when it is necessary. This is something in Singapore that we will need to inculcate and develop if we want cycling to entrench in Singapore."
Singapore has the Safe Cycling Programme for Youths, where cyclists learn to use hand signals to communicate their intention to drivers, among other things. But across the board, public education on safe cycling would need to be ramped up, said Ms Caroline Samponro, Deputy Director at the New York-based Transportation Alternatives.
"Cities that are very safe for biking are cities where kids from a very young age in school learn about safety on the street. So I think that it's not just laws and enforcement, and adults training. It's actually reaching people when they're young and they're in the schools that can be very impactful,” she said.
Another way to spread the message is through activities, such as fund-raising cycling events.
Mr Steven Lim, President of the Safe Cycling Task Force, said the organisation supports events such as that by voluntary welfare organisation Teen Challenge (Singapore) - which helps youths suffering from addiction - by training a group of safety cyclists to help out.
"If we train 50 safety cyclists, technically, we will expect to see 50 better cyclists, so we will have 50 fewer bad cyclists on the roads,” he said.
Paving the way for a strong cycling culture as well, a groundbreaking ceremony for a cycling path network in Punggol took place on Sunday (Jun 21), as part of the Government's efforts to get more people to adopt cycling as a greener mode of transport.
- CNA/dl
