Missing the forest for the trees

It’s unfortunate that barely a week after the Government proudly unveiled its Green Plan 2030, which includes the targets of planting one million trees by 2030 and adding 1,000 hectares of “green spaces” by 2035, came the startling revelation that 4.5 hectares of woodland in the Kranji Forest, a green lung in the northwest of Singapore, had been felled without authorisation, right under the noses of JTC Corporation.

Kranji Forest no more. Credit: Brice Li.

For at least the near future, I foresee that all attempts by the authorities to promote their green initiatives would be shot down by snide remarks about “chopping down a forest” or something to that effect.

Eventually, the blame will be apportioned, and someone’s knuckles will be rapped. But a forest ecosystem destroyed by error will take decades to recover, if at all.

The silver lining of this sorry debacle is that it has shown that popular awareness of the importance of conserving whatever’s left of Singapore’s natural heritage has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 10 to 20 years. People are more discerning now, realising that carefully-manicured parks cannot compare to natural forest, woodland, or even shrub - the latter are far more valuable in terms of the quality and diversity of wildlife they sustain, even if they had flourished for only a few years, as was the case for the Kranji Forest. More are also demanding that the authorities consult the community and listen to their feedback before taking action, rather than expect them to go with the flow after decisions have been made in an ivory tower conference room.

From now on, thanks to online resources and social media, every significant clearance - or potential clearance - of forest cover will be scrutinised and discussed. First Clementi Forest, then Dover Forest, then Kranji Forest, and next: A patch of forest south of Lower Seletar Reservoir, lying inside military training grounds.

The forest clearance can be seen clearly from the Orchid Country Club, on the opposite side of Lower Seletar Reservoir.

At about time. Because planting one million trees in artificially-created parks means nothing if we lose all our remaining natural forests. That would truly be missing the forest for the trees.

“Falling through the windows”

Chanced upon this short essay submitted to The Straits Times by a Secondary 3 Changkat Changi Secondary School student in 1978 (he / she would be 58 years old now).

The author wrote this at a transition in Singapore’s post-independence history - the Republic was in the midst of constructing New Towns filled with high-rise flats, while clearing rural kampungs and agricultural communities; however, the island still had plenty of both. Hence, it was the opportune time to weigh the pros and cons of living in either habitat.

What tickled me was the innocent manner in which the student wrote about the “dangers” of living in high-rise flats: Little children “may fall through the windows”, while “people living on the higher floors tend to throw rubbish and things down through their windows”.

Also, the author was one of a small group of students who lived on one island and studied in another! He / she lived in Pulau Tekong Besar, but went to school on the mainland.

A Malay village in Pulau Tekong Besar. Credit: Pinterest.

Pulau Tekong Besar’s residents were resettled to the mainland by the late 1980s.

Converting road space

Seven years into Singapore’s official car-lite drive, and the authorities have initiated the Republic’s largest push yet to convert road space to cycling paths. Better late than never!

More than 20 roads in the northeast of Singapore and the eastern parts of the island will be assessed to determine if portions of them can be reclaimed for cycling paths, in what is likely to be the first such study on this scale.

They include stretches along heavily utilised roads such as Aljunied Road, Braddell Road, Upper Serangoon Road, Upper Paya Lebar Road and MacPherson Road.

Should all plans come to fruition, experts said the additional paths - part of a national plan to boost Singapore’s cycling path network to 1,300km by 2030 from 460km now - will significantly improve convenience and safety for cyclists.

They told The Straits Times that the traffic study to be done is the largest they have heard of so far in relation to converting road space to cycling paths. It is one of various initiatives in Singapore’s push to become a car-lite nation.

According to tender documents seen by ST, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is seeking engineering consultancy services to design cycling paths and related infrastructure in the eastern sector.

Plans for the construction of the cycling paths are spread out in three phases till 2030.

The potential conversion of road space would contribute to the expansion of networks in several areas over the next decade.

Estates that could significantly benefit include Geylang, which is slated to have an additional 29.5km of cycling paths, Sengkang (28.3km), Hougang (28.2km) and Serangoon (27.6km).

Industrial areas, such as those in Pasir Ris (6.6km), Tampines (3.6km) and Bishan (1.6km), could also get cycling paths should feasibility studies come through.

The proposed new paths should connect to the existing path properly, LTA said. Where necessary, existing roads, junctions and facilities should be realigned, reconfigured or reconstructed to do so.

The LTA said the studies on identified roads will analyse the traffic impact that the cycling path proposals would have on surrounding roads. Tender applicants should propose localised road improvement schemes to meet traffic demands where necessary, it added.

Associate Professor Walter Theseira, who heads the Master of Urban Transport Management programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said the studies address the issue of lack of space to build cycling paths along some key routes.

On why major roads are being looked at, he said: “If you want to implement a good high-speed commuter cycling network, there is often going to be no choice other than to align the network with the existing arterial road network. The arterial road network is there for a reason - it happens to be the path that is most convenient for a larger number of commuters.”

Mr Gopinath Menon, a transport engineering consultant, noted that cyclists are allowed to use normal road lanes, but many refrain from doing so because they feel unsafe.

Drawing parallels to the decision to introduce dedicated bus lanes, he said that while it had some impact on traffic, there was a strong case to give priority to buses as they are “efficient movers of people”.

“Similarly, bicycles are an eco-friendly mode of transport that the Government wants to encourage.”

But he added that it is unlikely that all the roads being studied will be partially reclaimed for cycling paths, due to traffic considerations...

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LTA will also study the feasibility of removing parking spaces along four roads in the Joo Seng-Tai Seng area: Joo Seng Road, MacTaggart Road, Kim Chuan Road, and Tai Seng Avenue.

The current roadside parking offered at Kim Chuan Road:

Credit: Google Maps.

And at Tai Seng Avenue:

Credit: Google Maps.

Up to 1977, roadside parking was the norm along Singapore’s roads, but from that year, it was gradually phased out, to hand over valuable road space to moving traffic - my book Jalan Singapura covers that. Now, it’s long overdue that LTA phases out whatever’s left of roadside parking. It should be reserved for only the most remote or underused of roads.