IN LAND-SCARCE Singapore, parking spaces for vehicles should be
considered first before any idea - including a satellite Electronic
Road Pricing system - to manage road congestion is
contemplated.
As it is, more and more living spaces are making way for parking
spaces. The roads in HDB estates can be as congested and noisy as
those in the city during the morning and evening peak hours.
Too much focus on meeting people's aspiration to own cars,
without due consideration for living spaces, air quality and
efficient movement of goods and people, could have irreversible
consequences.
Singapore, being surrounded by the sea, should also explore the
viability of using its waterways as another mode of moving goods
and people. For example, people could be ferried to the Central
Business District from boarding terminals at the eastern and
western coastal areas, where there are many parking spaces for
motorists to park their vehicles and board the ferries.
Jolly Wee
