Originally posted by BillyBong:
Actually, the current nearest MRT station is a fight between Khatib
and Yio Chu Kang. Pemimpin is already classified as Bishan-Toa
Payoh GRC and not even under the care of Lee junior.
There used to be a service 825 (run by the now defunct TIBS) which
operated to Springleaf garden and took commuters direct to Yio Chu
Kang. It was an interesting route, but the frequency was a letdown
and they provided only a minibus. Ultimately, after a 2-3 years,
the service was cancelled.
Latest update: They just put up a stage at the park. All the
residents are 'admiring' it on their morning walks...especially the
old ladies and their dogs. 
If you observe the route in which
the MRT lines take, it naturally takes the shape of a corridor that
run through the thickest HDB Heartlands with the highest population
densities.
Most of the main corridors with significant Private Housing
development, as along Thomson-Upper Thomson-Sembawang corridor,
Bukit Timah-Upper Bukit Timah-Bukit Panjang corridors remains
unserviced by the MRT.
The Circle Line will probably address this issue in an indirect
way, compared to the North East Line that serviced the large
private population living along the Serangoon-Upper
Serangoon-Pongol Corridor.
Springleaf Estate located off Upper Thomson Road - and exiting
directly into it - will naturally follow the flow towards the new
Circle Line Station at Marymount-Jalan Pemimpin; with sufficient
and close-by carparks at the Shunfu HDB Estate for park and ride
into the City.
Prior to this Circle Line being built, Springleaf had to be
connected to the nearest stations at Yio Chu Kang and Ang Mo Kio -
(while Khatib will have to be a bad choice if a Springleaf resident
intend to head into the City).
For all those living along the Upper Thomson-Sembawang Corridor,
the journey towards (lower) Thomson Road and Lornie-Adam Road has
been a nightmare for the last forty years.
The CTE - that was supposed to alleviate the heavy traffic flow -
did not service the large number of Private Estates that sprang up
along this corridor, and with nearly every household owning two or
three cars parked within their landed compound or along the estate
roads.
Is the CTE taking a "CENTRAL" route on Singapore Island, or would
it be more accurate to have called it simply a North-South
Expressway ?
The CTE is actually "Off Center" - as the Center Route would have
been more accurate if it had run along a route that is between
Bukit Timah and Thomson Corridor, unfortunately it will cut a
longitudinal scar deep into the water catchment area of Seletar,
Pierce and MacRitchie Resevoirs.
Both the corridors along BukitPanjang-Bukit Timah and
Sembawang-Thomson are slap with a ridiculour speed limit of 70kmh,
even when most parts of these corridors are 3-lanes in each
direction.
Many private cars are caught by this speed restriction even at the
off-peak hours late into the night when traffic is minimal.
Forty years of slow improvement is surely too long, when compared
to the number of flyovers constructed along Bukit Timah - where
several Cabinet Ministers reside (including SM GCT).
Perhaps the residents of Springleaf Estate can push these views to
LHL, and make his visit more eventful and worthwhile
?
