Gantries in heartland to make residential estates more
liveable
Sat, Feb 16, 2008
The Straits Times
TAKING the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) scheme into the
heartland will ease an expected islandwide traffic gridlock and
make residential estates more liveable, Transport Minister Raymond
Lim said yesterday.
With 850,000 vehicles on the road and more intensive use of cars
than in other major cities, Singapore's arterial roads will also
soon face congestion, he said in response to queries on the planned
expansion of ERP coverage.
Dr Lee Bee Wah (Ang Mo Kio GRC) questioned the point of evening
ERP charges along the Central Expressway (CTE), which she said is
the shortest route home for Ang Mo Kio and Yishun residents.
But Mr Lim replied: Imagine a situation where heartland roads are
exempted from ERP charges and only the Central Business District
and expressways leading there are affected.
Drivers would then use alternative roads, including detours
through the heartland and other estates.
'If you're living in a residential estate, is that what you want
- gridlock?' he asked.
He said his ministry studied many European cities such as those
in Switzerland and Germany, which have measures to cut down vehicle
traffic in residential areas.
Congestion exacts costs on both the economy and the environment
and 'going ahead, the key thing here is to have a liveable city, a
quality urban living environment', he said.
Singaporean drivers clock up 21,000km a year in their cars, more
than Londoners (9,100km) and even those in Los Angeles
(19,800km).
In response to other questions, he said that the 16 new ERP
gantries coming up this year are part of a package of measures to
manage gridlock on Singapore's roads.
The measures include road and rail upgrades totalling nearly $54
billion.
This means the Government is giving back to the public more than
the projected increase in ERP revenue, he said.
The increase in the number of gantries will bring the total
number to 71.
'I think it is worthwhile for us to realise that when we are
dealing with congestion, we can't rely on any single measure. You
need a whole suite of measures,' he said.
Anyone who says he has found a panacea or a single solution is
'selling you snake oil. Ignore the medicine man, it doesn't work
that way', he said.
Madam Ho Geok Choo (West Coast GRC) asked him how the $168
million in ERP revenues will be accounted for following the rate
hikes.
Mr Lim said the money would go towards funding various
government programmes for Singaporeans, including public transport
and road projects.
From now till 2020, some $14 billion will be spent on road
developments, and around $40 billion on extensions to rail
lines.
While his ministry expects the additional revenue from the
upcoming ERP changes to be about $70 million annually, the
reduction in road tax will cost the Government about $110 million
every year. It will also collect $200 million less annually due to
a reduction in the Additional Registration Fee (ARF) for cars, he
said.
The point of the ERP, he told Madam Ho, 'is to address
congestion and is not a revenue measure'.
CLARISSA OON
