More green spaces, walkways and shelters in five-year plan to revitalise Tanjong Pagar

SINGAPORE: Tanjong Pagar GRC and Radin Mas SMC are set for a facelift under a five-year rejuvenation plan that will introduce more green spaces, sheltered walkways and pedestrian-friendly streets. 

The plan was unveiled on Sunday (Feb 2) at Redhill Market, where Tanjong Pagar Town Council chairman and Radin Mas MP Melvin Yong launched an exhibition showcasing the upcoming improvements.

The five-year plan is part of the Remaking Our Heartland Programme. Under this initiative, all six divisions of Tanjong Pagar town – Buona Vista, Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru, Moulmein-Cairnhill, Queenstown, Henderson-Dawson and Radin Mas – will receive upgrades.

The rejuvenation plan was shaped through months of community engagement and will guide improvements until 2030, according to a press release from the town council. 

KEY UPGRADES

More green corridors and pedestrian-friendly streets will be introduced, creating a more walkable and sustainable environment for residents. Such streets will be at locations with high pedestrian flow and near key amenities such as markets, hawker centres and community centres. 

Additional sheltered walkways and ramps will improve accessibility throughout the town. 

At the same time, upgraded roads and enhanced public transport nodes will improve connectivity to other parts of Singapore. Those opting for sustainable transport will benefit from increased electric vehicle charging stations and additional bicycle racks.

All 156 Housing and Development Board (HDB) car parks in Tanjong Pagar town will be equipped with EV charging points by the end of this year. 

The town will also cut down on energy use by progressively switching to LED smart lights that use up to 60 per cent less energy, installing Elevator Energy Regeneration Systems that cut elevator energy consumption by about 20 per cent, and using data to optimise the estates' electricity usage. 

Up to 58,000 solar panels will be installed on HDB rooftops across Tanjong Pagar town by 2030, with surplus energy fed back into the power grid.

More specialised recycling facilities will be rolled out across the town, including those for e-waste and used cooking oil. The food digester machine, which converts food waste into compost, has already been trialled at Redhill Market and Tanjong Pagar Plaza, with plans to expand the initiative to other hawker centres.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the event, Mr Yong said the refreshed plan was a continuation of the previous five-year plan. He said the team incorporated learning points from before, such as standardising the template for sheltered walkways to maintain cost efficiency.

Mr Yong added that the town council wanted to create more shared spaces as the number of people was increasing in the area. 

"So I decided that, working with the team, we want to create more shared spaces so that residents are able to meet up to interact, and also for the community organisations to hold activities.

"We also have a lot of older residents, so connectivity is very important," he said, adding that residents have also been creating their own paths in the estate over time. 

"So we will work closely with the community groups and residents. When we want to start building all this connectivity, I think their inputs are very important so that we don't build a path and then later we build another path."

EXAMPLES OF EXPECTED UPGRADES

Exhibition panels at Redhill Market laid out enhancements to the various divisions that can be expected.

Tanjong Pagar-Tiong Bahru division will see upgrades to facilities such as its basketball court and amphitheatre at Spottiswoode Park, and a new communal plaza at Jalan Bukit Merah. 

At Radin Mas, Redhill Market and Telok Blangah Rise Market, along with the toilets at each of the respective food centres, will be renovated. 

Alongside upcoming Build-to-Order flats, the neighbourhood of Queenstown will see more parks connecting to new and existing homes. New adult or elderly fitness corners and playgrounds will be built at Jalan Bukit Merah, Jalan Rumah Tinggi, Queen's Close and Strathmore Avenue. 

In addition to a new health district at Queenstown - an older estate with more senior residents - all precincts there will have larger block numbers and clearer signage to help visitors and residents navigate the estate and identify their blocks, by 2030.

Farrer Park in the Moulmein-Cairnhill division will be redeveloped, with new homes alongside parks, sports and recreational facilities, including a multi-purpose playfield, running track and swimming pools. At the same time, the old boxing gym will be retained to honour the area's sporting heritage. 

PRESERVING HERITAGE

Other than Radin Mas MP Mr Yong, also present at the launch of the town's rejuvenation plan were MPs for Tanjong Pagar GRC - Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth and Social and Family Development Eric Chua, and Ms Joan Pereira. 

The MPs officially launched the five-year plan while commemorating the completion of the Redhill Neighbourhood Renewal Programme.

As part of the event, they watched performances at Redhill Market, participated in a calligraphy segment and engaged with residents.

Mr Yong said on Sunday that as the town modernises, efforts will also be made to retain each neighbourhood's heritage.

For example, in Bukit Merah, heritage-related projects will transform the area into a "living museum".

“As new HDB BTO (Build-to-Order) flats are built in Tanjong Pagar town, we must ensure that our longtime residents have new amenities to look forward to," he said in the event's press release.

"We will refresh our mature HDB blocks and focus on enhancing our community spaces so that our new and longtime residents can interact and bond with each other.” 

Over the next five years, key upgrading programmes – including the Repair and Redecoration Programme, Home Improvement Programme and Lift Enhancement or Replacement Programme – will continue to be rolled out, the town council said.