Have a Mardi Gras parade or a fashion runway: Experts suggest ideas to rejuvenate Orchard Road

SINGAPORE — A Mardi Gras or Halloween parade, and underground walkways to link every mall along Orchard Road — these are some of the ideas experts have thrown up as the authorities embark on a mission to freshen up Singapore’s most famous shopping street.

On Wednesday (Jan 30), the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the National Parks Board (NParks) jointly announced plans to rejuvenate Orchard Road, which included a proposal to pedestrianise a segment of the major thoroughfare.

But there has been criticism that these proposals were not bold or creative enough.

Mr Mark Shaw, chairman of the Orchard Road Business Association (Orba), said on Wednesday that he would have liked to see “some bolder moves on URA and STB’s part”.

Other experts TODAY spoke to echoed Mr Shaw’s sentiments.

Dr Michael Chiam, a senior tourism lecturer at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said many of the ideas have been “tried before on an ad-hoc basis… with limited success”. “But I think with a concerted effort, there may be a slightly better chance of success than in the past,” he added.  

Plans to give Orchard Road a facelift were first announced in 2017 by then-Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran, as the popular shopping stretch was losing its attraction due to the presence of heartland malls and the rising popularity of online shopping. 

On plans by the Government to pedestrianise a segment of Orchard Road, property consultancy ZACD Group’s executive director Nicholas Mak said that there needs to be regular events, which have to be attractive enough to draw the crowds.

“Otherwise, in the end the people who go there will be foreign workers,” he said.

Mr Mak suggested that events such as Mardi Gras, Halloween parades, a farmers’ market or expos tied to religious festivals could be held there.

He also proposed organising a flea market regularly, but what stall owners are allowed to sell should not be too tightly regulated, he said.

“If it is going to be too restrictive, it may not be too colourful. Sometimes, loosening the controls a bit, not free for all, can add more colour, it will attract some people to go to those places,” he added.

'GIVE PEOPLE A REASON TO GO TO ORCHARD ROAD'

Dr Chiam suggested that besides having the usual Christmas-themed events during the year-end festive period, there could be fashion-themed events and pop-up stores.

He also proposed having a part of Orchard Road converted into a runway, or holding events that showcase local brands and designers.

“There must be value creation in Orchard Road that they don’t find in other parts of Singapore, such as the (suburban) malls, to give people a reason to go to Orchard Road,” he said.

International Property Advisor's chief executive Ku Swee Yong said he would like to see every mall in Orchard Road connected via an underground walkway so that pedestrians will not be exposed to the weather elements.

The cost of building the underground linkways should be borne by the authorities since it is an infrastructure project, he added.

Currently, underground linkways connect only a few malls lying within the vicinity of each other, but not across the whole 2.2km stretch.

However, Mr Mak pointed out that ideas to connect various malls in Orchard Road have been brought up before but they never materialised. There were issues such as who owns the shops set up at these underground walkways.

“The self-interest of different owners came into the picture,” he said. “The fact that it’s not implemented shows that the obstacles have not been resolved.”

Beyond that, the experts also noted competing interests that would hinder the implementation of the proposed plans.  

“Let’s say you have pop-up stores on the road surface, how do you ensure shoppers are not driven from the malls to the pop-up stores? It will affect the sales of mall operators,” said Dr Chiam.

Mr Ku agreed, saying: “The idea that we will have a lot more activities and stalls on the roadsides — isn’t that going to take away business from tenants inside the building? I don’t know how they can balance it.”