Roadside properties are a double-edged sword: their close proximities to highways not only bring about breeze, but noise and dust as well.
(According to one resident, things will only quieten down at Potong Pasir Avenue 1 between 3am and 5am, because of the CTE)
Residents of two such properties at blocks 116 and 118 Potong Pasir Avenue 1 will experience worsened conditions as widening works on nearby Central Expressway (CTE) complete, and traffic is brought closer to their homes.
Over the past three and a half years, the project to transform the CTE from a three-lane to a four-lane dual carriageway has led to viaducts and slip roads sprouting up around the area. In fact, a new slip road will be constructed just 12m away from the two blocks. The expressway itself will be situated just 30m away as well – the minimum buffer prescribed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The minimum buffer required between a slip road and a residential block of at least six storeys is 7.5m.
This gap is so narrow that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has even put up a 340m-long, 6m-high fence in front of the two blocks, which according to the authority will serve to prevent people from wandering onto the expressway unwittingly, and objects from disrupting traffic flow. The fence can currently be seen by motorists and residents alike, but the LTA has planted a row of trees alongside it, which when fully grown will hide the obtrusive fence from view.
Residents speaking to The Straits Times expressed that they have already gotten used to the constant traffic buzz. Said 49-year old executive David Tan, who has been residing on the 10th floor of Block 115 (another block fronting the CTE) for about a year, “If we close the windows, it's quiet enough for the kids to study. But normally, we keep the windows open because we like the breeze. I guess you can't have the best of both worlds.” Tan added that he only found the noise disruptive when the occasional sports car zooms down the highway at night. He suggested putting up a noise barrier to encase the part of the highway that passes the residential area.
Housewife Haryati Mohd, who lives on the second floor of Block 116 commented, “It's not only noisy, but very dusty. But we've lived here since 1997, so we're quite used to it now.” She also cited the precise period when the expressway would quieten down: between 3am and 5am. As for the fence, the 41-year old said, “I don't like it. It does not help much, and it blocks the view. We can't see what's going on.”
These Potong Pasir properties are not the only ones affected by the widening of the CTE. Saraca Terrace, a neighbourhood of landed homes near Seletar, are now as close as 15m to the expressway. Previously, there was a distance of about 20m to 25m between the highway and the homes.
The 16km CTE has been widened several times – though never quite as extensively as current works – the first time being just three years after its opening in 1994. The North-South Expressway, which is supposed to divert traffic from the CTE, has been on the drawing board since 2002 and has only been given the go-ahead early this year.
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Related Categories: Daily Property News and Updates, HDB
Tags: air pollution, Central Expressway, CTE, Land Transport Authority, living in Singapore, LTA, noise pollution, Potong Pasir, Potong Pasir Avenue 1, roadside properties, Saraca Terrace, Seletar, URA, urban redevelopment authority
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