LIFTS AT PEDESTRIAN OVERHEAD BRIDGES

LIFTS AT PEDESTRIAN OVERHEAD BRIDGES: 14.

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for Transport whether LTA would consider installing escalators or lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges in estates like Mountbatten and Marine Parade where there is a large proportion of elderly residents.

15.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether LTA can install lifts at overhead pedestrian bridges to help the elderly who are not able to climb the stairs to use the bridges to cross the road, especially in the Bukit Batok East estate; and (b) whether LTA has any other solutions to deal with such challenges faced by an ageing population.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport (Mr Teo Ser Luck) (for the Minister for Transport): Sir, may I have the permission to take Question Nos. 14 and 15 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes.

Mr Teo Ser Luck: Sir, we want to build an inclusive land transport system that caters to the accessibility needs of our people, including the elderly and less mobile.

In this regard, we have been improving the barrier-free accessibility of our transport facilities. All road facilities such as pedestrian walkways and public roads within a 400-metre radius of all MRT and LRT stations have been made barrier-free. All our MRT stations are already wheelchair accessible with at least one barrier-free route. By the end of this year, seven in 10 MRT stations will have at least two barrier-free routes. To further enhance accessibility to our MRT stations, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) recently announced that it will retrofit lifts at six pedestrian overhead bridges located next to MRT stations.

On the wider issue of enhancing mobility on our roads for our elderly, let me clarify that escalators are not barrier-free access facilities. Other problems may also arise when the escalators undergo maintenance or when they break down. For example, the elderly and other pedestrians might find it more difficult to walk up or down the steps on the escalator as they are steeper and higher than the steps on a normal staircase.

As for installing lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges, these are costly and difficult to maintain. Given that there are about 500 pedestrian overhead bridges island-wide, we have to be prudent in our use of public funds. Instead of installing lifts at pedestrian overhead bridges, LTA's approach is to provide at-grade crossings at suitable locations as these are more convenient and accessible for the elderly and less mobile. When this is not possible, LTA provides ramps at pedestrian overhead bridges, where feasible, to make it easier for the elderly and less mobile to use.

LTA will also be expanding the Green Man Plus scheme to 500 more pedestrian crossings island-wide, starting from 2012, to allow the elderly more time to cross the roads.

Nevertheless, I would appreciate it if Mdm Halimah and Mr Lim could let LTA have the details of the specific areas in Mountbatten, Marine Parade and Bukit Batok East where there are mobility concerns so that they can see how best to address these concerns.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the clarification, and for his information, I have written twice to LTA. The answers have been negative. My question is, what is the alternative because the purpose of the overhead pedestrian bridge is for people to cross over but the elderly has difficulty crossing over? Granted that there are resource constraints in the use of public funds for installing lifts or escalators, there are maintenance difficulties and so on. What other alternatives are there to assist the elderly and the disabled to cross the road if the pedestrian bridges are not effective or sufficient?

Mr Teo Ser Luck: I assure the Member that we understand her concerns and we will look into this seriously. I believe that we can work with the Land Transport Authority (LTA). We will look at specific areas where we can implement alternative measures, for example, the Green Man Plus scheme that I have mentioned, as well as some other potential at-grade crossing measures that we can implement around that area, or near to certain transport nodes. We will try to do that. So it is something that we can work closely with the Member and get more details and information.