Upgraded town centre, enhanced connectivity part of rejuvenation plan for Ang Mo Kio
Published on
24 Sep 2023
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – Residents in Ang Mo Kio can look forward to a revitalised town centre with new community spaces and enhanced connectivity, under the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) plan for the town.
Based on feedback from a Housing Board survey and focus group discussions, the plan for Ang Mo Kio will focus on revitalising the town and neighbourhood centres, creating new community spaces and bringing greenery closer to residents.
Mr Henry Kwek, adviser to Kebun Baru SMC Grassroots Organisations (GROs), announced these and other rejuvenation plans at the launch of the Ang Mo Kio ROH exhibition in AMK Hub on Saturday.
Upgrading town centre
The Ang Mo Kio Town Centre will undergo a facelift in two phases.
The first phase was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August 2022. It involves upgrading the pedestrian mall with a sheltered canopy to connect it to AMK Hub, new shaded seating around the pedestrian mall and more ramps within the town centre.
Carried out by the Ang Mo Kio Town Council, these works will be progressively completed from the second quarter of 2024. The second phase of the rejuvenation works is slated to be completed by 2027.
It includes a play corridor designed as a mini road circuit to add more buzz to the town centre. The open area beside Broadway Plaza will be developed as a community space with play elements such as intergenerational facilities.
New shop spaces will also be developed to complement existing commercial facilities within the town centre.
Connecting green spaces
A new recreational trail called the “Garden Loop” will be introduced, to connect both the town gardens and Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park to the town centre.
The new trail will come with pocket parks and fitness corners, offering spaces for residents to walk, run or cycle seamlessly from the town centre to the gardens and parks in Ang Mo Kio.
The National Parks Board also plans to enhance Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. Besides the newly opened dog run, a new Nature Playgarden for children and therapeutic garden will be added.
To connect Ang Mo Kio to neighbouring Bishan, a new linear park will be designed along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8 from Yio Chu Kang MRT station to Bishan Road. This will be complemented by a network of nature ways which is progressively being implemented to intensify the greenery in the town.
Multi-tiered plantings that resemble the natural structure of forests will be built along roadsides, and gateways will also be enhanced using colours that relate to the area’s heritage to create a welcoming entrance.
Improving connectivity
Construction work for the Cross Island Line (CRL) has begun. When completed, the new Ang Mo Kio interchange and new underground Teck Ghee Station on the CRL will improve access and shorten travel time to other parts of Singapore.
The upcoming North-South Corridor (NSC), which will run along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6, will comprise almost 9km of viaduct and some 12km of underground road tunnels, linking the northern region of Singapore to the city.
With more vehicular traffic diverted to the NSC viaduct and tunnel, surface streets along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6 can be repurposed for greener connectivity, including the provision of bus lanes, cycling trunk routes, pedestrian paths as well as more communal and green spaces.
More senior-friendly neighbourhoods
With four out of 10 residents in Ang Mo Kio aged 60 and older, the ROH plan also seeks to promote active ageing and enable senior residents to move around their estates with greater ease and safety.
Therapeutic gardens, fitness trails and corners, as well as exercise equipment will be designed within the neighbourhood to promote an active lifestyle and social interaction.
In addition, mobility enhancements such as barrier-free ramps will be added to improve safety and accessibility for senior residents.
Along Ang Mo Kio Street 31, a new “Friendly Streets” pilot by the Land Transport Authority will make access to the nearby Teck Ghee Court Neighbourhood Centre and Ang Mo Kio Town Centre safer and more inclusive.
Features include a raised zebra crossing especially for the elderly, wheelchair users and families with prams, as well as narrowed roads and traffic-calming measures to slow cars down.
Traffic lights will also feature quicker green man activation and longer green man time to give pedestrians more time to cross the road.
Mayflower Market and Food Centre, Teck Ghee Square, Chong Boon Centre and Yio Chu Kang View will be upgraded with improvements to pathways, landscaping and new seating areas.
Forging a stronger town identity
The Ang Mo Kio Heritage Trail, first launched in 2011, will be refreshed to tell new stories of the neighbourhoods, communities and heritage businesses that have been operating since the early days of the town.
The trail will also feature architectural icons such as Block 259 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, also known as the Clover Block, houses of faith such as Liuxun Sanhemiao and Ang Mo Kio Joint Temple as well as new sites such as the Kebun Baru Bird Singing Club and the Ang Mo Kio Merlion statues.
Volunteers from Ang Mo Kio GRC GROs, Kebun Baru and Yio Chu Kang GROs will work closely with residents to co-create art installations at selected void deck walls in the estate.
Designs for the artworks in Kebun Baru and Yio Chu Kang will be dementia-friendly to help residents with way finding, while in Cheng San-Seletar, the projects will focus on improving mental wellness.
New housing developments in AMK
Over the next few years, close to 1,800 new flats will be completed at Yio Chu Kang Beacon, Kebun Baru Edge and Central Weave @ AMK.
These housing developments will inject new commercial amenities as well as social and communal facilities for the enjoyment of all residents. They will also offer new and younger families the opportunity of living in Ang Mo Kio.
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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