Car-Free Sunday SG has become a popular event for the community to try out different forms of active mobility while enjoying the car-free streets. The upcoming Car-Free Sunday SG on 26 February will see various elements coming together to promote active mobility and encourage a car-lite lifestyle.
Riding on the theme of “Safe Riders Sunday”, this Sunday’s event aims to promote responsible behaviour among cyclists, users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) and pedestrians on shared paths. As part of “Safe Riders Sunday”, the public can look forward to a variety of activities organised by community partners such as Lovecycling SG, Wheelies and iWheel4fun to promote safe cycling. In addition, there will be a “Personal Mobility Roadshow” where visitors can try out as well as purchase bicycles and PMDs. There will also be free bicycle rentals offered by bikeshare companies to promote active mobility.
Starting from this month’s edition of Car-Free Sunday SG, participants will be able to enjoy the full 5.5km car-free route from 8am to noon. This is made possible with the extension of the road closures within the Central Business District and the Telok Ayer Loops by an additional hour from 11am to 12pm, similar to the Civic District Loop. This will give participants more flexibility to enjoy the activities over a longer duration.
See table below for the road closure hours and Annex A [PDF, 360kb] for the road closure map:
The community activities, organised as part of the “Safe Riders Sunday” at Connaught Drive, are below:
A “Safe Riding Programme” obstacle course will be set up for participants to experience a series of simulated path scenarios, such as shared tracks, bus stops and blind spots, and learn safe riding tips from trainers from LTA, Big Wheel Scooters SG and Wheelies.
Cycling group “Lovecycling SG” will be organising a “Fa-Fa-Fa” Challenge where participants are challenged to cycle in figure-of-eight loops without their feet touching the floor.
Volvo Trucks Singapore will be featuring its “See and Be Seen” truck installation to engage and educate the public on road safety around heavy vehicles. The installation will give the public a chance to experience first-hand the limited field of view a truck driver faces, and how they can play a part as pedestrians to avoid accidents.
“iWheel4Fun”, an initiative by SCC Travel Services, involves taking participants on a Heritage Trail through the historical landmarks in the Civic District, including the Cenotaph, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, Asian Civilisations Museum and the National Gallery Singapore on PMDs. In addition to providing a unique active mobility experience, participants will have the opportunity to practise the safe riding habits learnt at the start of the trail. PMD enthusiasts can also participate in team sports such as Netball, Captain’s Ball and Frisbee using electric unicycles.
A PMD sharing start-up, Telepod, will feature its PMD docking station prototype to gather public feedback on how to improve the user experience of its dock. Telepod will also provide free use of its PMDs for participants of the Safe Riding Programme and a PMD rental service for leisure users.
There will also be a Knackstop pop-up store for the public to purchase creative and quirky keepsakes inspired by our everyday experience with public transport, and own a piece of Singapore’s unique transport icons. The net proceeds will go towards helping the disadvantaged with their transport needs.
In conjunction with the active mobility theme and to promote safe riding, members of the public who participate in the “Safe Riders Sunday” activities on 26 February will stand a chance to win a Swifty Scooter worth $699 when they upload their photos on Facebook or Instagram with a caption on how they #RideSafer. Find out more details on Car-Free Sunday SG Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/carfreesundaysg/.
For the first time at Car-Free Sunday SG, the public can also test and purchase a variety of bicycles and PMDs at the “Personal Mobility Roadshow”. Multiple vendors such as CycleLogy, Falcon, EcoRider, The Cyclist Mess Pte Ltd, will be located along St Andrew’s Road in a mini carnival, offering test rides to encourage a car-lite lifestyle.
For the first time, there will also be free bicycle rentals by bike share companies - Mobike, O Bikes and OFO Bicycle this Sunday, on a first-come, first-served basis. Each company will be offering 10 to 15 bicycles for free rental in 30-minute blocks. Come early to get your hands on a free ride!
The popular trishaw service will be back again this Sunday. Initiated to enable those who are less mobile, particularly the elderly, to experience and take in the sights of our car-free Civic District, the service will feature six trishaws offering rides by volunteers, including cycling group Team Cycledelic and members of the public. Participants can also choose to operate the trishaw personally to ferry their elderly family members or friends.
Participants can register for the trishaw service between 8am and 11am on Sunday at the trishaw booth in front of National Gallery Singapore, along St Andrew’s Road. Each registration is for a 15-minute block around the Civic District Loop, and on a first-come, first-served basis.
The public can soak in the sights and sounds of this rich heritage area in a car-free environment.
An entertaining puppet show by the Geyi Puppet Troupe will debut at Car-Free Sunday SG. Located at Telok Ayer Square (opposite Thian Hock Keng), there will be two performances at 9.10am and 10.10am. Established in 2001, the Geyi Puppet Troupe is a popular troupe that performs regularly for festive celebrations.
Over at Amoy Street, visitors can learn about old streets in the Telok Ayer conservation area through a series of heritage visuals.
The public can also continue to enjoy breakfast in cafés that will be opening earlier from 8am, participate in the regular guided tours around Telok Ayer, relish the musical performances by buskers, as well as perform on the open microphone stage that will further enliven the Telok Ayer conservation area.
The Share the Road Cycling Carnival, comprising Criterium Races at Cecil Street and Robinson Road, will be back again. Organised by Singapore Cycling Federation and Cycosports, the carnival aims to highlight the diversity of cycling disciplines and promote cycling as an inclusive sporting and recreational activity in Singapore.
Two races – Men’s Super Masters (45 years+) and the Men’s Masters (35-45 years) – will be held from 6am to 7.30am. Members of the public are welcome to join in as spectators of the criterium races, and participate in the community ride from the CBD back to the Civic District at 7.30am for the official Car-Free Sunday SG flag off in front of the National Gallery Singapore at 8am.
Refer to Annex B [PDF, 465kb] for more details on the activities.
Like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/carfreesundaysg/ and get updated on the Car-Free Sunday SG activities around the Civic District and Telok Ayer conservation area. Do share your photos with the hashtag #RideSafer and #CarFreeSundaySG.
Members of the public are encouraged to take public transport or cycle to the event venue. Refer to Annex C [PDF, 1.5MB] for cycling access points to the Padang.
Participants can also rent a bicycle from Car-Free Sunday SG’s partner bicycle rental companies before the event, and collect the bicycle at Connaught Drive on the event day.
Car-Free Sunday SG is a community initiative by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Land Transport Authority (LTA), National Parks Board (NParks), National Arts Council (NAC), Health Promotion Board (HPB), Sport Singapore (SportSG) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA), supported by a host of community and interest groups to promote the car-lite message and enliven the streets. The second series of Car-Free Sunday SG will run for at least six editions. See Annex D [PDF, 6kb] for the list of dates for upcoming editions.
Visit http://ura.sg/carfreesundaysg to find out more about the event.
#CarFreeSundaySG