| Sengkang New Town | |
|---|---|
| English: | Sengkang |
| Chinese: | 盛港 (Min Nan: Sēng-káng) |
| Pinyin: | Shèng Gǎng |
| Malay: | Sengkang |
| Tamil: | செங்காங |
| Demographics | |
| Region: | North-East Region |
| Total area: | 10.55 km² |
| Residential area: | 5.07 km² |
| Dwelling units: | 39,982[1] |
| Projected ultimate: | 95,000 |
| Population: | 138,500 (31 March 2006)[1] |
Sengkang New Town (Chinese: 盛港新镇; pinyin: Shènggǎng Xīnzhèn) is a relatively young satellite residential town in the city-state of Singapore. Originally a fishing village, the area is presently undergoing rapid development under the ambition of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to transform it into a "21st century township".[2] The town now comprises four large neighbourhoods. It is located within Sengkang, one of the 55 urban planning areas outlined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for long-term land use planning purposes.
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Sengkang New Town is situated to the north of Hougang New Town, in the north-eastern part of Singapore, under the North-East Region as defined by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
The town is bounded by the Tampines Expressway (TPE) to the north, Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon River) to the east, Buangkok Drive to the south and Jalan Kayu to the west. Sungei Punggol (Punggol River) cuts through the new town, and divides the town into Sengkang East and Sengkang West. The Sengkang Town Centre is located in Sengkang East.
Sengkang means "prosperous harbour" in Chinese. The name comes from a road called Lorong Sengkang, off Lorong Buangkok. The area was formerly known as Kangkar (Gang Jiao 港脚) or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. Fishing villages and rubber, pepper and pineapple plantations flourished in the area in the old days.[3][4]
Before the town was developed into a modern housing estate, the area was home to vegetable and pig farms, and tropical forests. The only public housing estate then was the Punggol Rural Centre, comprising a few low-rise residential blocks (blocks 1-5, 206 & 207) accommodating resettled farmers, located along Punggol Road. These blocks at the rural centre have since been demolished in 2005, to make way for future high-rise residential apartment blocks.
In 1994, an urban design team of 10 from HDB started conceptualisation for a new town in Sengkang. Sengkang was carved up into six neighbourhoods that will eventually house a total of 95,000 public and private housing units in the long term.[2][4]
Sengkang's rich history became the theme for its future — Town of the Seafarer.[3] Three neighbourhoods carry a marine sub-theme, while the other three will reflect the past when sprawling plantations covered parts of the area. The six neighbourhoods are planned to have names and colour schemes to go with their respective themes. Its past is today reflected in the design of its housing, seen in the three-storey pilotis or stilt effect that all the housing blocks have, reminiscent of the stilts of fishing villages and trunks of the various plantations of bygone years.[4]
The town's first apartment blocks (known locally as flats) at Rivervale were completed in 1997.[2][5] By August 2001, about 33,700 dwelling units have been completed. As at 31 March 2006, there are 384 HDB apartment blocks with 39,982 units in Sengkang New Town, comprising 16,017 four-roomers, 19,477 five-roomers and 4,488 executive flats.[1]
In October 1999, a steering committee chaired by Dr Michael Lim, Member of Parliament for Cheng San Group Representation Constituency, was formed to look into providing sufficient amenities in Sengkang New Town, in view of feedback from residents. The Sengkang Town Development Steering Committee comprises grassroots leaders and the representatives of government agencies, and has four sub-committees taking care of town development, transportation, education, and social aspects. It coordinated and sped up the provision of town amenities, and completed its report on the need for facilities and services in the new town in July 2000.[2][5][6][7][8]
Sengkang's two main rivers, Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon, bring life through the town with a network of green connectors along their banks, linking housing precincts to neighbourhood parks, and in the future, to the town park and sports complex as well. Eventually, these park connectors will be linked to the future Coney Island Park in Punggol New Town and the existing Punggol Park in the south, to better serve the recreational needs of the residents of Sengkang. Sengkang Sculpture Park, located in Compassvale, is an elongated green space created below the Sengkang Light Rail Transit (LRT) viaducts.[9]
Besides the pilotis located at the foot of all apartment blocks, point blocks are designed with a unique C-shape that provide greater privacy. Other common features include perforated balcony screens, and mesh or net-like parapets at the multi-storey carparks.[4]
Sengkang is also the first satellite new town in Singapore to have its major public transport amenities built in tandem with the main public housing development. The main heavy rail tunnels through Sengkang and the elevated track infrastructure of the intra-town Sengkang LRT system were developed as the existing public housing blocks were being built in the late 1990s.[3][5] An integrated approach to transport, housing and commercial uses was also adopted in the planning of the town centre of Sengkang. Commuters alighting at Sengkang MRT Station have direct access to the Sengkang Bus Interchange, the shopping mall at Compass Point and the residential development at Compass Heights in a contiguous building complex.[2][10][11]
Sengkang New Town is currently divided into four major neighbourhoods, arranged from east to west:
City planners plan for public transport to eventually become the preferred mode of transport in the future. The government of Singapore ideally desires environmental towns, using public transport to reduce pollution caused by heavy road traffic. Sengkang is part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's focus for realising this urban planning model. As Sengkang is relatively distant from the city centre at the Central Area, an efficient, high-volume and high-speed public transport system is also preferred to using road networks.
The Sengkang MRT Station, Sengkang LRT Station and Sengkang Bus Interchange are fully integrated within a single building complex to allow seamless travel for the residents of Sengkang New Town across the different available modes of public transport.
Sengkang New Town is linked to the Central Area and the SMRT lines (to the Circle Line at Serangoon Station and Harbourfront Station), to the North-South Line at Dhoby Ghaut Station, and to the East-West Line at Outram Park Station) through the North East Line (NEL) at Sengkang Station (NE16) located at Sengkang Town Centre. The NEL system is a fully automated heavy rail mass rapid transit system, and started operations on 20 June 2003.[12][13] It is currently operated by SBS Transit.
Buangkok NEL Station (NE15), the other station along NEL in Sengkang New Town, serves the housing developments in Buangkok, at Compassvale, and the northern part of Hougang New Town. The station started operations on 15 January 2006.[14]
The intra-town Sengkang Light Rail Transit (LRT) system is a 10.7 km light rail line that serves to link residents to the town centre. It is a fully automated system, and its rolling stock is supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The system is currently operated by SBS Transit. The Sengkang LRT line forms 2 loops, East Loop and West Loop, that skirt the perimeter of the new town.
Station names are:
The Sengkang Bus Interchange is located at the ground level of Compass Heights condominium, next to Compass Point Shopping Centre. It was opened in 18 January 2003,[17] and is the second air-conditioned bus interchange in Singapore, after Toa Payoh Bus Interchange.[18] There are numerous trunk services departing from Sengkang Bus Interchange, with routes as follows:
| Service | Destination | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBS Transit Trunk Services | |||
| 80 | HarbourFront Bus Interchange | ||
| 83 | Punggol Bus Interchange | ||
| 86 | Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange | ||
| 87 | Bedok Bus Interchange | ||
| 119 | Hougang Street 21 (loop) | (1 to 2 buses) | |
| 156 | Clementi Bus Interchange | ||
| 159 | Toa Payoh Bus Interchange | ||
| 163 | Toa Payoh Bus Interchange | ||
| 163M | Fernvale Lane (loop) | ||
| SBS Transit Feeder Services | |||
| 372 | Anchorvale Road (loop) | ||
| SMRT Buses Trunk Services | |||
| 965 | Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange | (1 bus) | |
There are other bus trunk services passing through Sengkang New Town:
| Service | Between | And | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBS Transit Trunk Services | |||
| 27 | Hougang Central Bus Interchange | Changi Airport PTB 1, 2 and 3 Bus Terminal | |
| 39 | Yishun Bus Interchange | Tampines Bus Interchange | |
| 43 | Punggol Bus Interchange | Upper East Coast Bus Terminal | |
| 62 | Punggol Bus Interchange | Lorong 1 Geylang (loop) | |
| 82 | Punggol Bus Interchange | Serangoon Central (loop) | |
| 85 | Yishun Bus Interchange | Punggol Bus Interchange | |
| 88 | Toa Payoh Bus Interchange | Pasir Ris Bus Interchange | |
| 89 | Hougang Central Bus Interchange | Changi Airport Cargo Complex (loop) | |
| 109 | Serangoon Bus Interchange | Changi Village Bus Terminal | |
| 136 | Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange | Punggol Bus Interchange | |
| 161 | Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange | Hougang Central Bus Interchange | |
| 168 | Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange | Bedok Bus Interchange | |
| SBS Transit Premium Services | |||
| 550 | Rivervale Drive | Fullerton Road | |
| SMRT Buses Trunk Services | |||
| 858 | Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange | Changi Airport PTB 1, 2 and 3 Bus Terminal | |
Bus services which have been removed or re-routed due to the operation of the North East Line or Sengkang LRT:
The Tampines Expressway (TPE) links Sengkang New Town up with Singapore's expressway network. The Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, which provides a direct route to the city area via TPE, was completed in late 2008.[19] New roads were also built to ease traffic congestion on Punggol Road.[20][21][22][23][24]
The major roads that currently link Sengkang New Town to Punggol New Town and TPE to the North, and Hougang New Town to the south are:
The arterial roads that run in the east-west direction within Sengkang New Town are:
There are currently eight primary schools and six secondary schools in Sengkang New Town. Land provision has also been made for a junior college in the town to meet future educational demand in the North-East Region.[25]
There are currently four major building complexes within the Sengkang Town Centre.
The neighbourhoods Anchorvale and Fernvale of Sengkang New Town fall under Sengkang West division of the Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency. Its Member of Parliament (MP) is Lam Pin Min. The two neighbourhoods were under the Jalan Kayu division, under Wee Siew Kim, before the general election in 2006.[46]
Compassvale, that includes Buangkok, and Rivervale come under the Pasir Ris-Punggol Group Representation Constituency. The current MP for Punggol South division of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, which covers a part of Hougang, Buangkok and the southern part of Rivervale, is Teo Ser Luck. He took over Charles Chong, who is the current MP for Punggol Central division that covers Compassvale and the western part of Punggol. Michael Lim, who was the MP for Punggol Central, retired from politics in 2006 and did not take part in the election that year.[47] Penny Low is the current MP for Punggol North division, comprising a part of Rivervale and the eastern part of Punggol. In the latest 2006 general election, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC was expanded from five to six MPs as the population in Sengkang and Punggol new towns has grown since 2001.[48] Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC had 178,393 voters, which exceeded the limit of 170,000 for a five-MP GRC.[49]
Before 2001, the entire Sengkang New Town and Punggol New Town were part of Cheng San Group Representation Constituency, which was hotly contested in 1997 general election.[50][51]
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