New ‘Silver Zones’ to help keep elderly pedestrians safe

SINGAPORE — Five towns with a high elderly population and relatively high accident rates involving this group have been chosen to pilot a series of road- safety enhancements for pedestrians.

Speed humps to slow down vehicles and centre dividers with railings to deter jaywalking are among the features that will be implemented in these ‘Silver Zones’.

Special markings on footpaths will be painted to guide the elderly to the nearest pedestrian crossings and transport amenities, while lifts will be installed at pedestrian overhead bridges where feasible.

The zones will be introduced in Bedok North, Bukit Merah, Jurong West, Marine Parade and Yishun by the end of this year, said Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim yesterday.

Although elderly pedestrians make up only 16 per cent of the population, they account for 40 per cent of all pedestrian fatalities. “I worry because our elderly population is growing by an average of 32,000 each year,” said Dr Faishal.

In another move to enhance road safety, the Land Transport Authority will adjust the criteria under a programme that identifies accident-prone locations for more safety initiatives to be introduced.

Areas with 12 or more accidents over three years will now be included in the authority’s Black Spot Programme, compared with the previous criteria of more than 15 accidents over three years. About 10 more accident-prone locations will be brought under the new criteria.

Providing an update on the progress of cycling infrastructure rolled out in heartland towns, Dr Faishal said cycling path networks will be built in Bishan, Bukit Panjang and Woodlands. Areas such as Marina Bay, Tampines and Sembawang have also been chosen to pilot bicycle-sharing.

Still, Members of Parliament Janil Puthucheary and Irene Ng called for more to be done to promote cycling, and they sought a target to be set for cycling, much like the modal share target for public transport.

Ms Ng, who called the cycling measures “piecemeal”, pushed for a review of the transport policy that favours motorists and asked for a more coordinated strategy for cycling as a mode of transport on Singapore’s roads. In response, Dr Faishal said: “I am very surprised by your comments that the efforts are piecemeal.”

He added: “I think the efforts we have taken are an integrated one, whereby we are looking at developing all the different towns and connect them together. It’s not happening at one region, it’s happening all over Singapore.”