Senior-friendly road safety features installed in Lengkok Bahru estate
SINGAPORE — Elderly residents in Lengkok Bahru will have more peace of mind when crossing the roads, with a series of new senior-friendly road safety features installed within the estate — the seventh completed Silver Zone in Singapore.
The senior-friendly road safety features launched yesterday include two-stage crossings so elderly pedestrians can rest momentarily before continuing to cross the road, and extended green man timings. Lane widths have also been reduced to encourage motorists to travel at lower speeds.
“Lengkok Bahru is probably one of the older precincts ... so a very high percentage of residents are elderly,” said Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC Chia Shi-Lu. “Aside from that, we also have a school nearby and an enabling village, which is part of the SgEnable eco-system where we cater for people with physical disabilities. So quite a lot of concern has been raised over the past few years ... in terms of road safety and pedestrian safety.”
The Land Transport Authority intends to implement 35 Silver Zones in residential estates by 2020. These are likely to be estates with a higher population of seniors and a relatively higher accident rate involving senior pedestrians.
Other new features that have been added to Silver Zones include raised intersections that are more conspicuous to motorists, as well as single-lane roundabouts to encourage motorists to slow down while reducing traffic conflict points without impeding traffic flow. CHANNEL NEWSASIA
