Marina Bay to be showcase cycling town
MARINA Bay will be criss-crossed by a 16km network of cycling paths by 2014, becoming the first area in the city with such a facility.
When completed, residents and office workers in the area will be able to cycle on bike-dedicated stretches linking the Marina Bay Financial District, Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, Marina Barrage and the future Gardens by the Bay.
A $26 million fund has been set aside for the construction works, which will begin this year.
Marina Bay will also be a showcase of how cycling paths can be developed along with a neighbourhood.
The Transport Ministry said the area was chosen because it is not yet fully built-up, making it easier to install infrastructure and plan the pathways.
On the other hand, areas like Shenton Way and Orchard Road, already built up, are more difficult to retrofit with cycling paths.
Mr Dennis Chong, a sales executive at The Bike Boutique, believes the paths will be popular with expatriates and the young locals who make up the bulk of the shop's customers.
The Bike Boutique offers cyclists who work in the Central Business District a place to shower and to store their bicycles during the work day.
'Having rules on the paths so there's a level of etiquette between cyclists will be important,' he said, adding that the cycling paths were a way to encourage more people to cycle.
Avid cyclist Tay Choon Wei disagrees.
The paths will go some way to promote cycling, said the 32-year-old, but pointed out that the benefits were limited because it would be impossible to connect the whole island with cycling paths.
Ultimately, people need to find a way to get to a cycling path and the only way to it will be by a road, he said.
'Cycling paths further segregate cyclists from the rest of the vehicles on the road and will reinforce motorists' mindset that we don't belong on the roads,' said the cyclist who bikes from his home in Thomson Road to Shenton Way.
'Cycling paths are a bonus, but if motorists just treat us better, we wouldn't even need paths to begin with,' he said.
MARIA ALMENOAR
Mr Filemon Palacios, 38, cycling out of The Bike Boutique on Amoy Street, which offers cyclists a place to shower and store their bikes during the work day. The Filipino bank employee cycles to work three times a week from his home in Upper Changi Road East. -- ST PHOTO: SAMUEL HE
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