Some residents unhappy
with 'private' lift
Sunday Times, The
(Singapore)
Home
October 28, 2007
Author: Jamie Ee Wen Wei
SOME residents in Pasir Ris will have a 'private' lift, which they
will share with just one neighbour, but they are not thrilled with
the idea.
A lift upgrade programme which will see the lift stop at every
floor will pose some inconveniences and risks, said two residents
who wrote to The Straits Times.
The design is such that the new lift landing will not lead to their
flat's main door, but to their balcony. There are no escape routes
or staircases and they fear being trapped in the lift landing in
the event of a fire or robbery, said auditor Khoo Teck Chung, 30,
who wrote in to The Straits Times.
Others think the additional door at the balcony may also increase
the risk of break-ins.
Eleven blocks in Pasir Ris Drive 4 and Drive 6 were selected for
the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP). Nine of the 11 in the precinct
voted for the upgrade - achieving the 75 per cent mandate required
for the LUP to go through.
Under the LUP scheme, residents will pay about $2,000 to $3,000 to
get these new lifts that stop at every floor. Currently, the lifts
stop only on three floors.
The HDB said the new lifts will come with clear glass panels and be
equipped with a lift surveillance system.
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and then.........
'Half-landing' lifts: Blocks
in Clementi offered solution
Plan involves linking lift
landings to flats via specially created entrances to
balconies
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Home
November 9, 2007
Author: Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent
RESIDENTS of 20 Housing Board blocks across Singapore have been
given fresh hope in tackling a problem over upgrading works
designed to provide lift access at every level.
The design of these HDB blocks means some residents still have to
take a flight of stairs to gain access to the upgraded lifts.
But residents in Clementi facing this problem have been offered a
possible solution by the HDB.
Subject to their approval, they are now set to get new lift
landings connected directly to their flats through specially
created new entrances to their balconies.
The plan, which also involves the creation of new lift shafts, was
revealed to residents in blocks 101 and 103 in Clementi Street 14
earlier this month.
It has been greeted with relief by some who had opposed the earlier
proposal for lift upgrading in their blocks.
Under the original proposal, they would have needed to climb a
flight of stairs to get to their new lifts even after upgrading
work.
Typical lift upgrading work is designed to provide direct lift
access on every floor to assist access for residents who are
elderly or disabled. The Government, which started the programme in
2001, aims to complete such work on almost every HDB block by
2014.
The unusual design of the two Clementi blocks, however, made this
condition difficult to achieve within the Government's budget of
$30,000 per benefiting household. Flat owners co-pay a small
portion of the bill.
The HDB said last year that 28 blocks islandwide which faced this
problem were offered 'half-landing' proposals, and residents in 22
blocks voted to accept them. It added that such upgrading has been
completed in eight blocks.
Affected Clementi residents, worried they would be sent to the back
of the upgrading queue should they reject the original proposal,
wrote a petition to their MP, Mr Christopher de Souza, last
year.
He in turn got the HDB to defer upgrading polling to find an
alternative to these half-landings.
Commenting on the new lift upgrading proposal, resident David Tham,
55, said: 'I'm happy with it. I think it's a very good
solution.'
But some residents, like architect Soh Wee Keong, 37, were
concerned it would allow strangers to linger outside their
balconies or even peek into them from the new lift landings.
Engineering consultant Tan Chee Hua, 50, lamented it would disrupt
the view of the Ulu Pandan river that he gets from his
balcony.
When contacted, Mr de Souza said most affected residents he visited
recently support the new proposal.
To address concerns of security and privacy, he has asked the HDB
to put shading 'fins' at the lift landings to block lift users'
views of the balconies without disrupting the airflow there.
He pointed out that the $3,000 each home owner will have to pay for
the lift upgrading - 10per cent of the total bill - includes the
cost of a new door, door frame and gate as well.
He said: 'We've really done our best to make this as attractive as
possible... This really is the best available option.'
A straw poll will be conducted on this balcony plan on Sunday. If
there is enough support, formal polling will be conducted in
January next year. At least 75 per cent of eligible home owners
need to back the upgrading plan for it to proceed.
However, the Clementi residents will not be the first to vote on
this special lift upgrading plan.
According to Aljunied GRC MP Cynthia Phua, residents in four blocks
of flats in Hougang originally offered half-landings for lift
upgrading strongly supported an alternative proposal for lift
entrances at their balconies in September.
[email protected]
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