MRT viaducts: What do Yishun and Chua Chu Kang residents want under the tracks? Plans should meet community needs, experts say
Responding to TODAY's queries on Monday (Feb 5), LTA and the Ministry of Transport said that exploring land use underneath the MRT tracks is part of efforts "to increase station vibrancy".
As this project is still in its exploratory phase, a study will be conducted to understand the cost and feasibility of such a project, LTA said.
The issue of land ownership will also be considered later if and when LTA proceeds with the plan, the authority added.
"If LTA decides to proceed with the project, we intend to consult stakeholders such as relevant government agencies, social and business entities and local grassroots advisors in deciding the uses for the sites."
LTA noted similar projects have been introduced in Japan, where such spaces have been "activated for community use" to provide a range of services such as retail and food establishments.
RESIDENTS' WISH LIST
TODAY spoke to 11 residents in Yishun and nine in Chua Chu Kang, who had differing views about how spaces under MRT viaducts in their respective estates should be used.
Ms Zoey Lee, 27, who has been a resident in Yishun for nearly her whole life, said: “I think if there were more cafes or restaurants, it would be cool.” The professional dancer also said that having bars is something that would add vibrancy to the neighbourhood.
Another Yishun resident, Mr Jimmy Foo, 70, who has lived in Yishun for 42 years said that he would prefer more convenience shops or provision shops. “For art (installations) that kind of thing, I don’t think it is a good idea.”
Student Loke Yee Ying, 18, said that while the Northpoint City mall in Yishun has plenty of stores, the possible development of the space nearby may allow residents to support smaller businesses.
Over in Chua Chu Kang, Ms Elnita Firdaus, 18, said that if the viaduct underneath the tracks were to be developed into retail space, it would have to be "really exciting" for her to spend time there.
Otherwise, she would prefer more communal spaces to hang out after school.
Ms Elnita, a student at the Insititute of Technical Education College East, said: “I find in (Chua Chu Kang), there is not so much space that we can relax or chill. Chua Chu Kang feels a bit tight.”
Agreeing, Ms Hah Ching Lin, 28, who works in biotechnology, said that the town is a densely populated area, where sometimes not everyone gets a chance to use communal facilities such as a basketball court.
Her husband Paul Librojo Ganaban, 31, said: "Community or shared spaces would be best.
"The library can be quite packed, and if students want to study, they have to (sit at) Starbucks."
HOW SINGAPORE'S VIADUCTS HAVE BEEN USED OVER THE YEARS
Given that Singapore has more than 100 flyovers and viaducts, the authorities have for years explored more creative and unconventional ways to use the approximately 60ha of "dead spaces" underneath them.
Dead spaces refer to sterile pockets of land that result from infrastructural development.
For example, the space under the Bukit Merah viaduct, dubbed Viaduct@JBM, was fitted with electricity, water and lighting and turned into a recreational community space in 2017.
In early 2017, the space under the West Coast viaduct was used to launch a night art market, followed by a test-bed for urban farming by social enterprise Edible Garden City for three months.
To contend with the lack of sunlight under the viaduct, edibles such as microgreens and mushrooms were grown in climate-controlled container units that provided sufficient light.
Ms Sarah Rodriguez, the head of marketing and human resources at Edible Garden City, said: "Container farming is one of many options that can be adopted to maximise farming space in land-scarce Singapore.
"Activating other underutilised spaces, like rooftops or even ornamental landscapes, into farming spaces could also help boost our food resilience."
More recently, the space under the West Coast viaduct has been developed into an archery range.
Salt & Light Archery has been a tenant since 2017 and has grown to be Singapore’s largest archery club.
One of the founders, Mr Israel Tan, 35, said that the large, sheltered 70m-long space allows their archers "to train rain or shine".
"Many competitive school students really appreciate this space, which allows them to train as often as they want after school," he added.
Elsewhere, a fishing and prawning venue under the Yio Chu Kang MRT tracks, dubbed Fish at AMK, lets enthusiasts try their hand at catching fish in a "longkang" (drain).
The flexibility of spaces under viaducts or flyovers can also be seen in how the space has changed under the Thomson flyover.
In the 1970s to early 1980s, it was known as Whitley Road Hawker Centre for many famous stalls. It shuttered in the late 1980s to early 1990s.
Then, in 2012, the space was transformed into a futsal park that drew many avid amateur football players.
When TODAY visited the space, the area had been cleared and is under construction for the North-South Corridor.
PROFIT SHOULDN'T BE THE AIM: EXPERTS
Experts TODAY spoke to said they are for the idea of developing spaces underneath viaducts, but emphasised that choosing the right development is important.
Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences said that given the proximity to the trains, noise and dust are factors to consider when deciding what kind of development to build.
“In fact, most of the commercial viability is likely to be near existing MRT stations. It certainly wouldn’t be so viable further away from the various MRT stations,” he said.
“That limits what you can do (with the space).”
Even so, he pointed out that some cities, such as Paris, use street-level viaduct spaces as parking lots, while Japan utilises the spaces under train tracks for dormitories.
“You can actually do quite a lot with the space, but it would be really on a case-by-case basis,” said Assoc Prof Theseira.
Property analyst Nicholas Mak said developing spaces under viaducts "can be a good idea", adding that the best way to use them is to meet the community’s needs.
For this to happen, Mr Mak and Assoc Prof Theseira agreed that if these spaces are for the benefit of the community, they cannot be thought about as "purely maximising revenue".
Mr Mak said that the community’s changing needs must be considered.
“We may be successful for a few years, but people’s needs change over time,” he said, adding that there may not be a need to develop every single space under the viaduct.
“Years later, you find that the community needs something different, but now you’ve got no more space.”
