Traffic Flow in Northern Part of Singapore to Cope with Expected Population Growth

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Transport with the projected population increase in Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands towns and the expected traffic disruptions and diversions due to the construction of both the North-South Expressway and the future Thomson MRT line, what additional measures is the Ministry implementing to ensure smooth traffic flow for residents in the north.

The Minister for Transport (Mr Lui Tuck Yew): Mr Speaker, Sir, to meet the transport needs of the growing population in the north, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has committed to constructing the new North-South Expressway (NSE) and the Thomson Line. The NSE will allow motorists travelling between the north and the city centre to save up to 30% of their travel time during peak hours. Public transport infrastructure improvements such as the Thomson Line, as well as upgrading the signaling system and adding more trains to the North-South Line will encourage more residents to switch to public transport and improve traffic flow in the north. In the nearer term, besides the widening of the Central Expressway (CTE) which was just completed last December, LTA will also be upgrading the interchange connecting the CTE, Tampines Expressway (TPE) and Seletar Expressway (SLE) to cater to traffic in the north and allow residents in Yishun town to access the CTE directly via Seletar West Link. These projects will be progressively completed within a decade.

While these projects are under construction, LTA will put in place measures to minimise impact on motorists and residents in the area. For example, prior to the commencement of construction work, LTA will carry out traffic impact assessments to determine the impact of construction to existing traffic. Necessary mitigation measures will be proposed to minimise disruption to traffic, depending on the specific situation. Where possible, lane-for-lane replacements will be provided to maintain the existing road capacity.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, Sir, let me thank the Minister for his reply. Certainly, for residents staying in the north, particularly Yishun, Sembawang and Woodlands, the main access roadways are CTE, BKE and the trunk road of Lentor, Thomson and Sembawang Roads. The fear now is that when we start the construction work for NSE together with the Thomson Line, two of the main axes will be blocked. We are concerned and wonder if there will be more plans in the future to look at the North-South access pathway and whether more trunk routes will be opened. I am happy to hear that the Seletar West Road will be coming up, but this has been announced many years ago since I was a resident in Yishun. I just hope this project can be hastened and accelerated.

Page: 1182

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary question. I would just like to share a little more about the plans for that area since I mentioned them very briefly earlier. The intention is to expand Seletar West Link to a dual-three, from a dual-one today. There will also be a new arterial road that will link Yishun Avenue 1 to Yishun Avenue 7. This will create a new access altogether on the eastern side of Yishun town, that will connect Yishun Avenue 7 through the new arterial road down through Seletar West, and this will connect directly to the CTE, TPE or the SLE. The time frame for this is sometime in 2015.

Er Dr Lee Bee Wah (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the Minister for the confirmation of the road works, which I had already received from the LTA. I would like to ask the Minister this: besides the road works, there is a lot of feedback on the lack of bus services due to the increasing number of BTO flats being built. Could the Minister give us an update on the new bus services?

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Sir, I had mentioned on a number of occasions previously in reply to the Member's questions that we are working with the operators with some intention to provide a certain degree of Government support for a significant increase in the capacity of the bus fleet. We will do so over the course of the next five years. When that capacity increase materialises, we will expect to see improvements not only to existing services and routes, but also the possibility of the introduction of new routes and services with this increase in capacity. May I request the Member to wait until the Ministry of Transport (MOT)'s Committee of Supply (COS) and we will have more details to share.

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan (Nee Soon): Sir, just to add to the earlier questions by my colleagues. I wonder if MOT or LTA is considering Light Rail Transit (LRT) for Yishun New Town, since it is going to grow by almost 20%?

Mr Lui Tuck Yew: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for that question. There are no such plans at this point in time.