Three-year URA study to help relocate heavy vehicle parks

SINGAPORE — To find suitable alternative locations for heavy vehicle parks, the authorities are looking to collect data on these vehicles’ travel and parking patterns.

Although there are now more parking spaces (over 44,000) than heavy vehicles (34,000), many of the existing heavy vehicle parks that are near housing estates will need to be redeveloped for new homes and community facilities, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in a press release on Friday (June 3).

At the same time, while there is high demand for these parking spaces that are located near housing estates, many residents have asked for the heavy vehicle parks to be relocated away from homes because of noise, fumes and safety concerns, the agency added.

So, the URA wants to install GPS devices in heavy vehicles that hold URA season parking tickets for one month to find their travel and parking patterns in order to identify suitable locations to build parking spaces for these vehicles.

It is calling for a tender to collect the data, as part of a research study with the Singapore University of Technology and Design and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology.

The URA will bear the cost of the device, including its installation and removal.

The data collected will be used for research and planning purposes only and URA will not receive information that identifies individual vehicle owners or drivers.

An estimated 7,000 vehicles will participate in the three-year study. The GPS devices will be installed in batches over 18 months and the study will not start until after Aug 1.

Heavy vehicle drivers will also be invited to participate in a voluntary survey to understand issues such as the purpose of heavy vehicle trips and time taken to pick up and deliver different goods.

This information will be used with the GPS data to develop and test potential solutions to help the logistics industry, said the URA.

National University of Singapore transport researcher Lee Der Horng said possible locations to consider include schools and under MRT viaducts.

He added that data on these drivers’ travel to and from the heavy vehicle parks is also important in identifying suitable sites because these workers may start or end work at odd hours when public transport is limited, making their commute home a problem.

Century 21 chief executive Ku Swee Yong said there should be a heavy vehicle park in every Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate, possibly at the fringes of the estates or between the industrial areas and HDB flats.

“We want to be compassionate about the drivers and their families, and how much time they take to get to the vehicle,” he added.