FACILITATING UNDERGROUND PEDESTRIAN NETWORKS IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

As the Singapore population is expected to grow to 6.9 million by 2030, we will witness the intensification of competition for land between competing uses. Given this scenario, Singapore has been on the lookout for innovative solutions to increase the amount of usable spaces. One of the strategies is to go underground to enable more prime surface land to be free up for efficient usage. The more common usage of underground spaces is for Underground Pedestrian Link ways (UPL) and transport infrastructures. The paper would evaluate the usage of underground spaces for UPLs. Various guidelines and incentives rolled out by the planning authority would be studied in detail. The case study Montreal, Canada is discussed to show how the Planning, Regulate and Incentives (PRI) approach is adopted. The case is related back into the Singapore’s context to identify the current practices adopted by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Two key recommendations to facilitate further development of UPLs in Singapore are proposed. The first recommendation is to include special tender conditions into GLS sites’ so that the development of UPLs would be legally binding on the developer. The second recommendation is to enhance the current redevelopment criteria with proposed UPL development as one of the criteria to be fulfilled before the approval for major building works are granted for existing developments. Comprehensive UPN plans are proposed for four areas to enhance the connectivity for pedestrian to commute from the MRT stations to the surrounding neighboring developments.