URA's reply, 22 Nov 2015
Rail Corridor can be a more inclusive community space
We conducted four years of extensive public consultations before embarking on the recent round of request for concept design proposals for the Rail Corridor ("Keep rustic feel of Rail Corridor"; last Sunday).
One recurrent theme that cropped up in the consultations is to make the Rail Corridor a more inclusive community space for people from all walks of life, while retaining its signature experience.
At 24km long, the Rail Corridor can take on differentiated characters along its route to serve the needs of the community, and be a continuous trail that links nature and heritage.
There can be a few activity nodes interspersed along the route that are complementary to the surroundings and cater to the needs of nearby communities. Nodes that are adjacent to homes and workplaces, such as in the Buona Vista and one-north areas, can take on a more urban character.
Other stretches, such as near the conserved Bukit Timah Railway Station, can remain more natural. To strengthen the "green corridor" experience, we will be working with the design teams and agencies on an appropriate natural landscape and planting strategy to regenerate the vegetation and enhance biodiversity along selected stretches of the Corridor.
The Rail Corridor's railway heritage will be strengthened. The design teams have recommended suitable new uses for the former railway stations to encourage more people to visit and learn about these historical landmarks. Other ideas include new way-finding signs and basic amenities reminiscent of former railway artefacts and platforms.
We will work with the design teams and community to consider other ways to further heighten the sense of memory and heritage of the Rail Corridor.
We will also need to consider suitable materials to improve the trail so that it will not be easily rutted and damaged as a result of wet weather or excessive use. The choice of material and design will be consistent with the character of the Corridor. An improved and safer trail with basic amenities will allow people of all ages and abilities to access the Rail Corridor and enjoy what it offers.
The exhibited plans are not final, and we welcome the public to provide their comments on the proposals. We hope to continue working closely with the community to make the Rail Corridor a unique community space that is inclusive to all.
Tan See Nin Senior Director, Physical Planning Urban Redevelopment Authority
Editorial, 15 Nov 2015, The Sunday Times
Keep rustic feel of Rail Corridor
The green artery that is the 24km Rail Corridor pulsed with the flow of people, mail and goods in a different era before it fell silent. The same has happened to railway tracks in many other places. In Britain, for example, changing times forced the closure of about half its railway stations. But activists laboured hard to convert some 7,200km of abandoned rail lines into green cycling and walking tracks. Some rail lovers even reopened deserted stations as Heritage Railways and still rave about "daring Victorian engineering" that once extended the reach of locomotives.
Singaporeans are no less sentimental about their past, in some ways, and flocked to the railway station at Tanjong Pagar when access was granted after it was closed in 2011 after 79 years. There is also a strong desire to preserve the greenery along the corridor. These two impulses should drive its development which is being led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It wouldn't do if demands by different groups for utilitarian features lead, over time, to a mongrel concept that diminishes the rustic feel of this precious unbroken space and also sidelines heritage.
Hopefully, many who respond to URA's call for ideas will bear this in mind as they view an exhibition opened recently on proposed designs. There is much to fire the imagination: rock-climbing walls, outdoor yoga spots, a linear forest near homes, observation towers, multi-recreation centres, event spaces, a multi-function community building, some 122 access points compared to the present 23, paved paths, mobile apps for users, toilets, resting points, water points, shower facilities, bike rental kiosks, restaurants… The list could grow. How rustic will it all be then?