CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS

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CYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS:

(Safety measures): 15.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo:

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo asked the Minister for Transport what can be done to make cycling on our roads safer for cyclists.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo asked the Minister for Transport in view of bicycles and motorcycles using barrier free access paths meant for pedestrians, what is being done to ensure the safety of pedestrians as we continue the drive for barrier free access.

17.

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Transport whether there has been a policy shift with regard to cycling as a mode of transport, given his public statement referring to a shift of thinking on cycling.

Mr Teo Ser Luck (for the Minister for Transport): Sir, with your permission, I

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would like to take Question Nos. 15, 16 and 17 together because they relate to the same topic on cycling.

Ms Irene Ng asked if the Ministry has made a policy shift with regard to cycling as a mode of transport. The Ministry used to view cycling as a form of recreation. But we now also recognise that it is an additional or alternative mode of transport for intra-town travel and short trips to key transport nodes, in other words, what we call inter-modal transportation modes.

To facilitate cycling for such trips, we have embarked on a range of initiatives.

First, as announced in the Land Transport Masterplan, LTA will provide more and better bicycle parking facilities at MRT stations and bus interchanges from 2009 onwards. This will take place progressively, with priority given to towns with relatively high demand.

Second, LTA has worked with the public transport operators to conduct a six-month trial to test the safety and feasibility of allowing foldable bicycles on board buses and trains, during weekends and off-peak periods. The trial is currently ongoing.

Third, we are exploring the feasibility of allowing cyclists to share pedestrian footways in selected towns, depending on local conditions. To that end, a Tripartite Committee comprising LTA, the Traffic Police (TP) and the grassroots organisations is conducting a trial in Tampines Town, to study the extent to which local residents are prepared to share a common footway with cyclists safely and with mutual accommodation. The trial, originally scheduled for a year, has now been extended for another six months to January next year. This extension will allow the Tripartite Committee to step up public education,

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strengthen enforcement, increase the number of volunteer cycling wardens, and also conduct a feasibility study on improving cycling infrastructure, such as selective widening of shared footways, before making a final decision for Tampines itself.

In the meantime, for all other areas of Singapore, Rule 28 of the Road Traffic Rules still applies, that is, cyclists should ride on the roads only and not on pedestrian footways. So in answer to Ms Jessica Tan's question, cyclists and motorcyclists caught riding on barrier-free access paths meant for pedestrians can be summoned by the Traffic Police. If they were found to have breached a Road Traffic Rule, it would be an offence under section 131 of the Road Traffic Act, which attracts a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine or three months' imprisonment for the first offence, and a $2,000 fine or six months' imprisonment for a second or subsequent offence. In cases where the cyclist or motorcyclist conducts himself recklessly to endanger the safety of others, he may also be punished under the Penal Code.

What has not changed is that in Singapore's land-scarce context, we do not have the luxury of space to develop a comprehensive network of dedicated cycling lanes on our roads. Our focus remains on making it safe for various road users to share the space that we have.

To that end, Traffic Police adopts a holistic approach towards promoting safe and gracious sharing of our roads through comprehensive education of and outreach efforts to both motorists and cyclists. TP's continuing education and publicity efforts on road safety centre on the need for motorists to pay special attention to vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. To further protect the safety of cyclists on the roads, LTA has also worked together with the Safe Cycling Task Force

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(SCTF), which is a community task force formed to ensure cyclists are safe on the roads, to install more than a hundred signs alerting motorists of the presence of cyclists along frequently-used cycling routes, such as those in the West Coast, the Thomson areas and Changi coastal roads.

Cyclists also have a part to play towards their own safety. TP works closely with the Singapore Amateur Cycling Association (SACA) on safety education measures for cyclists. Last year, a total of 14 road safety talks were conducted, covering the pre-riding checklist, like wearing helmets and lights on the bicycle, safe cycling tips and case studies of traffic accidents involving cyclists. Another 41 road safety exhibitions providing safety tips for cyclists were also held at HDB neighbourhoods, primary and secondary schools, and workplaces.

Safety, whether it is for cyclists on the roads or for pedestrians on footways, is a shared responsibility. Different groups of commuters have to play their part by adhering to the relevant traffic rules and regulations, and they have to exercise graciousness, mutual accommodation and due consideration for others when using these common spaces.

Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo (East Coast): I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the very comprehensive answer. Can I just ask a clarification with regard to the safety of cyclists on the roads? There have been some good measures in place, but can more be done, not in terms of having a dedicated lane, but in terms of promoting their safety? As the SPS has rightly mentioned, where widening of footpaths or roads is possible, you can do that. But in cases where you cannot, are there any other measures to help safer riding on the roads for cyclists, especially in the heartlands?

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The second clarification I have is with regard to barrier-free access. I have heard the Senior Parliamentary Secretary on the rules, but observing from the towns, what is being done for enforcement of those rules because, whether you are talking about overhead bridges or barrier-free access paths, we can all agree that there has been an increase in terms of usage by cyclists as well as motorcyclists on these? For safety reasons, what more can be done for the enforcement side?

Mr Teo Ser Luck: For the first question, what else can be done for the safety of cyclists on the roads, especially the heartlands, in fact, on the main roads as well – I cycle frequently, so I understand the dangers, and I pray before I cycle everyday. We know that the road space is scarce, so we cannot be drawing lanes. It could be possible in the future but not now because there are still limitations in terms of the space that we can have for just a lane dedicated to cyclists. So what we can do now is education and providing cycling signages just to make sure that motor vehicle drivers, road users know that there is a vulnerable group of cyclists on the road. And the education part would not be just for the vehicle owners but also for the cyclists. As we know, some cyclists, if they are riding really fast, they may sometimes find it difficult to stop or reduce their momentum and may sometimes not obey traffic rules. So education has to be on both sides. And we will have to do the best we can in terms of this education, not just to schools but to the different cycling groups in Singapore, where possible.

Currently, there is an experiment with cycling on footways. Some footways can be widened, but some cannot. For those footways which cannot be widened, we are studying and reviewing whether demarcation is possible. But that itself has also a limitation because if we demarcate, say, draw a line, there may still be overlapping. Cyclists may just cut across

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into the pedestrian path. We have to review and experiment with different methods, because we know that the number of cyclists has continued to grow and there are more cyclists on the road.

That actually brings me to the Member's next question: how do we make sure there is enforcement? What Tampines has done and is still experimenting – they have extended the trial – is that they have volunteer wardens who have been quite successful in the way they have done their enforcement. The community must help themselves, in order to get this going. Singaporeans, especially the cyclists, road users and pedestrians, must learn how to accommodate one another. When the cyclists are on the road, they are the vulnerable lot. When the cyclists are on the footways, then the pedestrians become the vulnerable lot. So we all have to learn to be able to accommodate one another in that limited space that we have. If we can do that, we can be a more gracious society.

Right now, I can only say that we will continue to educate, put more efforts in there, and we will explore with different ways to see how we can make cycling safer on the roads so that we can encourage more people to make use of this inter-modal transportation by cycling to the transport nodes to take MRT or buses.

Mr Michael Palmer (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, given the emphasis on safety, could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary please explain why lights at night are required by law but helmets are not?

Mr Teo Ser Luck: For any cyclist, I would say that lights and helmets are necessary as far as safety is concerned. Whether the law requires it or not,

I do not have the answer, I need to review

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that. But, I would say that, as a cyclist and for safety measures, helmet is necessary because it can actually save a life. When cycling accidents happen and they are fatal, a lot of times, it is because they were not wearing helmets. Lights are necessary because you are the vulnerable road user. It is important to remain visible to motorists so that they can avoid your path. So, let me review that and come back to him.

Mr Zaqy Mohamad: Could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary give us an assessment of the view that enforcement should be left in the hands of volunteers? I have that problem in my constituency as well. You have got motorcycles running through the barrier-free access into the parks, footpaths and so on. You do not find a consistent means of enforcement. If they are in a park, they say it is the NParks' problem. If they are around the block, they say it is HDB's or the Town Council's problem. If it is by the side road, it is LTA's problem. So, there is no consistent means of enforcement but, yet, the safety of pedestrians is of overriding concern. Perhaps, the Senior Parliamentary Secretary can elaborate on how effective the Voluntary Enforcement Officers (VEO) are.

Mr Teo Ser Luck: Enforcement can only go so far and the enforcement, I would like to clarify again, is not just the community but it has to be, of course, on the road, the Traffic Police and the enforcement unit must come into play. But Members know that we cannot be checking on every corner because there will be areas that will not be covered. The community has to help themselves and we can only educate and urge the public and the users to be more accommodating and to know that we just need to accommodate one another in this limited space that we have. So, we do our best, in terms of enforcement. But that will not be the way to go. That is why the key is that we have to have better education,

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we have to understand and to be able to accommodate one another for cycling to be safer and successful.

Mr Charles Chong (Pasir Ris-Punggol): Sir, we heard the Senior Parliamentary Secretary say that cyclists should be cycling on the roads and should they be found cycling on the pathways, if they are outside Tampines GRC, they could be severely fined. Could the Senior Parliamentary Secretary tell us if the cyclists happen to be young children on kids' bicycles, should they be cycling on the road or will they be fined if their parents make them cycle on the pathways?

Mr Teo Ser Luck: I think our main objective is to keep road users safe. If it is a young kid and you are talking about very young ones on their tricycles, I do not think we are going to enforce the rules so strictly that they have to cycle on the road, because that is extremely dangerous. But, rules are meant to be enforced to make sure that at least the pedestrians are safe. As far as the rules are concerned, we want to make sure that there are no cyclists on the footways, so that the footways can be safely used by the pedestrians. If you are talking about small kids, as I have mentioned, I think we need to exercise some flexibility in the enforcement.