DEVELOPMENT PLANS OF SCHOOLS

DEVELOPMENT PLANS OF SCHOOLS:

(Vehicular access to surrounding road network): 19.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether there is a requirement for LTA to review and endorse the development plan of schools with regard to vehicular access to the surrounding road network; (b) whether a traffic impact study report is required by LTA for all development/redevelopment of schools; (c) whether it is appropriate for the main access to schools to be located behind bus stops as this will entail parents alighting their children there; and (d) whether LTA approves of such access and whether they are in accordance with road management guidelines.

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The Minister for Transport (Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat): Mr Speaker, Sir, during a school's planning and development stage, LTA will work closely with MOE or the private education institution to give advice on and endorse the location of the school's vehicular access and drop-off points. LTA will also assess what is the traffic the school will generate and, if the impact of this traffic on the surrounding roads is significant, LTA will require a Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) to be made to explore how this can be minimised. The purpose of the TIA is to guide the layout of the school so that the access points to the school can be sited appropriately.

Where possible, the main access to the school is located away from the bus stop. However, this would have to be balanced against making it convenient for students who take public transport to get to school.

The management of traffic around the school is an on-going process. When the school becomes operational and if there are indeed traffic concerns raised, LTA will work with the school, Traffic Police and other agencies, such as HDB or Town Council, to identify necessary improvements or modifications to the traffic scheme around the school. Measures taken could include engineering solutions, such as railings to prevent jay-walking or cars stopping, allowing parents to drive into the school to drop off or pick up students, or encouraging parents to make use of nearby HDB carparks and service roads as waiting areas.

Despite these measures, LTA recognises that there may be instances where the impact of the traffic cannot be mitigated fully, and congestion may still build up when school is about to start or end. LTA will continue to work with the schools to improve the situation, but I would like to seek residents' understanding as these periods of heavy traffic are usually predictable, and only for a short period each day.

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Mdm Cynthia Phua (Aljunied): Sir, I would like to ask the Minister why every time when the school has undergone PRIME, as a result of it, there is always problem with the road traffic around the school. If the Traffic Department of LTA has endorsed the plan, why has the situation not improved? And I do not understand why LTA does not consider making it a requirement for the traffic impact study to be done by all schools.

Mr Raymond Lim Siang Keat: For most schools, in terms of the traffic congestion problem, it is quite localised, ie, it does not affect the whole area. So, to impose on the Ministry of Education this requirement - we have 336 primary and secondary schools in Singapore - when it is a localised problem, might be too onerous. But where it is necessary like, say, it does impact on the surrounding areas, this would, indeed, be done.

On the first part of her question on PRIME, going ahead, based on representations from individuals like the Member, we had a joint committee last year, comprising representatives from MOE, LTA, Traffic Police, HDB and URA, to look into this. Every time when we have a new school or a school that is going through upgrading, one of the key things that they will look at is, indeed, this traffic segregation scheme to make sure that they have a good scheme that separates between pedestrians, dropping off and picking up points for parents, and school buses. If there is a need for additional land, because the site is small, then the Ministry of Education will make the necessary representation.