PUNGGOL ROAD (High accident rate)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for National Development whether Punggol Road will be widened, in view of the numerous accidents on that road in the last few years because of increasing traffic and, if so, when.

The Minister of State for National Development (Mr Lee Yock Suan) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, recent traffic counts conducted by PWD showed that the peak-hour traffic volume along Punggol Road is within the capacity of the road. There is therefore no justification for the widening of this road.

The high accident rate is due mainly to speeding. Motorists tend to speed along Punggol Road because of the low traffic volume and the absence of intersections. To bring down the speed of vehicles, the PWD has laid speed regulating strips on the road. More safety measures will be carried out by the Department in the next six months. These include the upgrading of the existing mercury vapour lamps to high pressure sodium vapour lamps, marking of lanes with highly visible thermoplastic paint, introduction of more double white lines and reflective button markers to prevent dangerous overtaking, and provision of more footpaths where there are pedestrian movements. The effectiveness of these measures will be monitored. Other safety measures will be introduced in future if necessary.

Mr Ng Kah Ting: Sir, may I know from the Hon. Minister of State how often are these traffic counts conducted, and when was the most recent traffic count conducted for this stretch of road?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, off-hand, I am not able to tell the hon. Member about the frequency for this particular road or whether there is any fixed frequency in general. I understand this count was done very recently for Punggol, in view of the Question by the hon. Member.