Reckless cyclists, PMD users spur Braddell Heights, Tanjong Rhu residents into action

SINGAPORE — The reckless riding behaviour of cyclists and users of personal mobility devices (PMDs) on the footpaths around Braddell Heights was a cause of concern for one 47-year-old resident, who was worried that his young children and mother might become casualties in an accident.

This genuine fear for the safety of his family and even his neighbours spurred bank manager Yee Kok Leong to form the Braddell Heights' Active Mobility Patrol Team last year.

Together with just five other like-minded volunteers living around the area, Mr Yee would conduct outreach programmes once every two months to educate cyclists and PMD users on safe-riding habits. They do it on a Saturday for about two hours.

Over at Tanjong Rhu, residents there were similarly concerned about the tension that sometimes arose between pedestrians and cyclists along the narrow suspension bridge between the residential area and the Singapore Sports Hub — particularly over the weekends when the bridge is heavily used.

This gave rise to the Mountbatten Active Mobility Patrol Team, and the group has been conducting patrols for two hours every Saturday morning for the last 18 months. It is part of their efforts to spread the message of safe and considerate riding practices.

For their initiative to improve the use of common spaces in their respective neighbourhoods, Mr Yee and the Mountbatten Active Mobility Patrol Team on Wednesday (Sept 12) received a Municipal Service Award in the individual and group categories respectively.

The award recognises good citizen-centric delivery of municipal services and inter-agency efforts to solve problems faced by a community. This year, there were 18 winners out of 97 nominees for all categories combined.

Speaking on behalf of the 10-man Mountbatten Active Mobility Patrol Team, who are all residents from Tanjong Rhu, Mr Rahul Gupta, 45, said that the initial days of trying to get things going were fraught with uncertainties and challenges.

The team often wondered "why people would listen us", for instance.

On why they did not give up, Mr Gupta, 45, said: "If it's not us, who else can do it?... We can't wait for the agencies to take care of everything."

Mr Yee also recounted how, in the early days of his outreach, few people would stop for him and his volunteers. Some were even hostile. "The initial few patrols were very difficult. They don't know us. Some pretended not to see us or tried to avoid us. Some even tried to ride very close to us. Others had harsh words for us."

Mr Yee took the hostility in his stride and focused on fine-tuning the way his team operated. Besides giving out brochures as part of the outreach, for example, he roped in the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Traffic Police and the Serangoon Neighbourhood Police Centre to join in the patrols not long after they began.

"The residents were a bit more receptive after that!" he said.

Despite the presence of the authorities, Mr Yee said that the group was clear that they would take the soft approach to educate errant cyclists and PMD users, which is to engage them through dialogue and not to chastise or penalise anyone.

The exception was if there were errant riders who repeatedly displayed bad behaviour, then the volunteers would report these cases to the police centre.

For those with good riding habits, they were rewarded with lights and bells for their bikes or devices. These were supplied by the LTA, Mr Yee added.

Mr Gupta said that accessories such as yellow reflective jackets, which were similarly provided by the LTA, also helped his team. More cyclists and PMD users were soon stopping and getting off their devices when they saw the team, giving them the opportunity to speak to them.

Both Mr Yee and Mr Gupta said that they have seen a marked improvement in the riding habits of cyclists and PMD users since they embarked on their initiatives.

Mr Yee now counts on more than 10 volunteers, and has even extended his outreach to a part of the Serangoon Central area.

Mr Gupta and his teammates are now working the ground beyond Tanjong Rhu and into other spots around the Mountbatten area.

Mr Gupta believes that changing human behaviour is a long-term task.

"If someone doesn't want to listen, it's okay… As long as we are getting 80 to 90 per cent of the people to listen to us, I think we are already making a big difference," he said.