OVERHEAD PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE ACROSS YISHUN AVENUE 2 (Erection of shelter)

Dr Koh Lip Lin asked the Minister for National Development (a) what were the reasons for not approving the request to erect a shelter on the overhead pedestrian bridge across Yishun Avenue 2 at MRT Khatib Station and (b) what is the estimated cost of erecting such a shelter.

The Minister for National Development (Mr S. Dhanabalan): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Public Works Department (PWD) has a programme to construct covered bridges where the pedestrian traffic is heavy during peak hours. PWD has adopted the guideline of 1,200 pedestrians per hour (20 per minute) during the peak hours, below which a covered bridge would not be justified. The request by Yishun Town Council to erect a shelter over the existing pedestrian bridge across Yishun Avenue 2 was carefully considered by PWD. The bridge is not part of a busy walkway linking, say, a bus interchange with a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. The actual pedestrian traffic on site is well below the guideline of 1,200 pedestrians per hour during the peak hours. Therefore, the request for a covered bridge was turned down. PWD will monitor the situation and will construct the covered bridge when the pedestrian traffic volume justifies it.

The cost of the roof structure for the 64-metre long bridge is about $100,000.

Dr Koh Lip Lin (Nee Soon South): Sir, is the Minister or the PWD aware that the proposed shelter will benefit about one-quarter of the Yishun New Town population and that is equal to 2% of the Singapore population?

The second question is: Does the Minister agree that the $100,000 is a very small sum of money to spend for the benefit of 2% of the Singapore population? Furthermore, is the Minister aware that once the shelter is provided the traffic volume will increase?

Mr Dhanabalan: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not aware that a covered bridge will become an attraction for people to visit the site. Whether it benefits one-quarter or one-third or one-half of Yishun, ultimately it must be reflected in the number of people who use the bridge during peak hours. As I have said, studies have shown that the peak hour traffic is well below the 1,200 per hour that we have set as the cut-off point.

At a later stage, Mr Speaker, Sir, I think there will be an opportunity to build a proper bridge because the site opposite the MRT station, which is a vacant site, will be sold for commercial development and a site adjacent to the MRT station is also a site to be sold for commercial development. We can then integrate the two commercial developments together with the MRT station and have a proper pedestrian bridge. But if before we sell the sites, there is a great increase in the number of people using the present uncovered bridge, we can construct a cover for the bridge.