“The reason we are doing this is because with the announcement of the ban of e-scooters on footpaths, the connectivity of active mobility users has been affected”, said Senior Minister of State for Transport.
With the ban on e-scooters from footpaths, the government is looking to bring forward the planned three-fold expansion of the city-state’s cycling path network by “a couple of years”, said Senior Minister of State for Transport, Lam Pin Min.
“The reason we are doing this is because with the announcement of the ban of e-scooters on footpaths, the connectivity of active mobility users has been affected,” he said.
The ban means e-scooter riders can only ride on cycling paths and park connector networks (PCNs). Currently, Singapore has 440km of cycling paths, reported Today Online.
Dr Lam earlier revealed plans to expand the cycling path network to 750km by 2025 and 1,300km by 2030.
“We are currently looking at the timeline, hopefully we’ll be able to bring it forward by a couple of years,” he said at a cycling event in Ang Mo Kio.
In fact, the Ministry of Transport and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) are working with grassroots advisers within various town councils towards this goal, while considering the possibility of reclaiming roads, he added.
Dr Lam cycled along Ang Mo Kio’s 6km route with Senior Minister of State for Transport Janil Puthucheary, Active Mobility Advisory Panel chairman Faishal Ibrahim and Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.
He noted that Ang Mo Kio would serve as a “role model town” in terms of promoting active mobility.
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Currently, another 16km of cycling paths is being built in Ang Mo Kio. Once completed by 2022, Ang Mo Kio’s 20km cycling network will be the longest within a residential town, said LTA in a release.
While Dr Lam hopes that other towns would have similar “active mobility infrastructure”, he acknowledges that there are challenges.
“As much as possible we will try to create as many cycling paths… I understand that in various towns there may be physical constraints,” he said.
“But LTA has come together with the various agencies, like the National Parks Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, to see how we can optimise the space available.”
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
