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Tuesday July 1, 9:47 PMTampines to extend by 6 months cycling-on-footpaths trialSINGAPORE: Tampines constituency will extend its cycling-on-footpaths trial by six months from August to study if it is feasible to let pedestrians share footways with cyclists.If the success rate is high, Tampines MPs may ask for it to be fully legalised within the constituency. The trial, which is confined within Tampines, started last May. One of the MPs in the Tampines GRC, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, said: "As fuel prices are high, it's not a bad way to travel short distances. It's more than just cycling, it's also about how we can work together to promote a more gracious environment. "I hope that Tampines is a place where those who wish to cycle can do so safely and that they will be able to share the footpaths with the pedestrians and the pedestrians are willing to share the footpaths with them and that both can co-exist happily." To facilitate that, Tampines will improve its infrastructure by creating more cycling tracks, educating residents and stepping up enforcement to encourage responsible cycling. Irene Ng, MP of Tampines GRC, said: "What we've done is we've hired independent traffic consultants and they've done an extensive survey involving 20,000 residents. "They've observed that conflict rates between cyclists and pedestrians have fallen drastically during the trial. In fact, the swerving actions have fallen by a big 70 percent. "I hope that during the next six months, cyclists and pedestrians will give it a chance." One resident said: "I'm not in favour because I, as a pedestrian, find it very irritating that somebody's behind me, honking the bell, thinking they have the right of way. I don't like that at all." "I think it's a wonderful idea because there're a lot of cyclists and rollerbladers here," another said. Throughout Tampines, selected footpaths will be widened to allow both cyclists and pedestrians to use them. Volunteer cycling wardens will also be deployed across Tampines at busy areas during the trial to educate residents about responsible cycling. The constituency now has some 190 cycling wardens and it hopes to attract 90 more. A cyclist could be fined S$20 for failing to ride in an orderly manner. For more serious offences, the cyclist could be imprisoned for up to a year or fined a maximum of S$5,000 or both. - CNA/so
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