Elderly folks’ wish for estate: Lifts, lifts, and more lifts

SINGAPORE — Going for her bimonthly check-up at Geylang Polyclinic is an ordeal for Mr Ang Ah Soon’s mum, who is in her late 60s.

It takes Mdm Lim a good 15 minutes to climb the overhead bridge and another 10 minutes to get down before she reaches the clinic, said Mr Ang, who accompanies his mother to her appointments.

“It pains me to see her stagger up. By the time she reaches the polyclinic, she’s already breathless,” he told TODAY in Mandarin.

The lack of lifts at overhead bridges is the biggest bugbear for the 45-year-old retail assistant, as well as for many others residing in MacPherson Single Member Constituency (SMC).

MacPherson, which was carved out of Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency (GRC) for this election, is home to 28,511 voters and bound by segments of MacPherson Road, Aljunied Road, Upper Paya Lebar Road and Sims Avenue East. The area is served by Aljunied, Paya Lebar and MacPherson MRT stations.

One-third of about 46,000 residents in the constituency are above the age of 60, and a majority live in public housing, according to Ms Tin Pei Ling, who, as a Member of Parliament for Marine Parade in the last Parliament, was in charge of managing the MacPherson division.

The SMC will see a three-cornered fight between the People’s Action Party’s Ms Tin, the Workers’ Party’s Bernard Chen and the National Solidarity Party’s Cheo Chai Chen in the poll on Sept 11.

MORE AMENITIES FOR ELDERLY NEEDED

Given the large number of seniors living in the constituency, MacPherson could do with more elderly-friendly amenities, such as lifts in buildings, speed bumps on roads and banking facilities, residents said.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced plans to make transport infrastructure more elderly-friendly, which includes retrofitting overhead bridges with lifts, but residents whom TODAY spoke to wondered when the enhancements will be rolled out.

“We have raised this issue repeatedly to the authorities, but nothing has been done. Lifts at the polyclinic will be especially helpful, as they are frequented by elderly patients,” said a resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee and who has lived in Geylang East for more than three decades.

Ms Tin, 31, told TODAY that plans are under way to retrofit overhead bridges with lifts, starting with the one connecting Paya Lebar Way to Aljunied Crescent, with the enhancement work due to be completed later this year.

Lifts will also be installed at the overhead bridge outside Geylang Polyclinic by next year, she said.

While most residents who were interviewed welcomed the opening of MacPherson MRT Station five years ago — which they said helped to “greatly shorten” travel time to the central parts of Singapore — some, such as a security officer who wanted to be known only as Mr Onn, said more trunk services into the Geylang East estate would benefit elderly commuters.

Currently, the area is served by only two bus services — SBS Transit 80 and 155 — and waiting time can stretch up to half an hour during non-peak hours, according to Mr Onn.

The Aljunied and Paya Lebar MRT stations are about 1km from Geylang East Central. It takes one about 10 to 15 minutes to walk there, “but for elderly residents, the distances seem a lot longer, especially if they have to walk under the hot sun”, said Mr Onn.

More buses plying the SBS 155 route were added in 2012, but infrequency remains a concern among residents, said Ms Tin, adding that she had raised the issue with the LTA.

Another Geylang East resident, Mr Lim Chin Teck, 54, suggested that more speed bumps be built on Circuit Road, Aljunied Crescent and Aljunied Avenue 2, as “the cars (on those roads) tend to go really fast”, despite the presence of pedestrian crossings.

The Geylang East Centre Market and several coffee shops are along those two-lane roads, and pedestrian traffic there tends to be heavy during lunch hours.

NOT ENOUGH ATMs

Mr Lim, who is an odd-job worker, would like to see more banking facilities in MacPherson.

Three local banks, POSB, OCBC and UOB, used to have branches in the area, but they have in recent years moved out, Mr Lim said. The latest to leave was UOB, which moved out in July.

“There are not enough ATMs in the area and the queues at the machines get very long on payday. The banks have moved out one by one. We are not sure why, but it’s very inconvenient,” Mr Lim said.

Ms Vivian Yeo, who owns Xin Li Jade Trading at Geylang East Centre Market, added that many seniors are not very familiar with ATMs.

Over at Circuit Road, a housewife, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Yeo, also complained about the lack of ATMs.

“There is only one UOB ATM at the food centre at Block 79, which is quite a distance from where we live. It will be good if more machines can be installed at the community centre,” said the 48-year-old, who lives at Block 120, Paya Lebar Way.

Ms Tin said her team is aware of this issue and has appealed several times to the major banks to continue operating in MacPherson and add more ATMs, but these are “business decisions (made) by private companies”.

“One of the reasons (the banks) would give (for installing more ATMs) is whether there is enough usage volume to justify their costs,” she said.

Ms Tin also shared that there are other ongoing infrastructural enhancements to make the estate more elderly-friendly, including sheltered walkways that link Paya Lebar MRT Station and Geylang East Central, as well as near Geylang East Centre Market.

ENHANCEMENTS TO ESTATE

Although MacPherson’s residents welcome more senior-friendly facilities in the constituency, most of those interviewed, including the senior citizens, acknowledged that their estate is equipped with a wide range of grocery and sundry shops.

Many also spoke fondly of the strong community spirit among the older residents who had shifted to MacPherson from Geylang.

One 89-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Goh, said: “Old folk live each day as it comes; we have no major complaints.”

Mr Goh has lived in the estate for almost four decades.

Circuit Road resident Chen Chun Yong, who runs a fruit stall at Circuit Road Market & Food Centre at Block 89, said: “This is a mature estate. The elderly customers don’t buy much, but we are content to just earn enough to get by.”

Geylang East resident Mr Onn added that many senior citizens regularly congregate in the neighbourhood parks and playgrounds at night. “It remains very vibrant. The old folk often chat until late into the night,” he said.

Younger residents welcome recent infrastructural enhancements, such as the Balam Park Connector as well as the increased connectivity to more MRT stations. In 10 years, MacPherson MRT Station will also be linked via the Downtown Line to the north-western and central regions of Singapore.

Mr Yeo Jaye Lin, who lives on Circuit Road, said he appreciates the enhancements made over the past five years to the connector, which included the addition of a rain garden.

The recently-renovated MacPherson Community Club also has rooms that are conducive for reading and studying, he added.

Ms Toh Mei Xuan, 34, said she enjoys the convenience provided by the nearby library and swimming pool, and appreciates the proximity of the estate to the Sports Hub.

“Our family cycles a lot, but it will be good if there is a park connector that directly links the estates to the Sports Hub, so the children do not have to weave through the small lorongs in Geylang, which are not the safest for cycling,” said the stay-at-home mother of three.