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Car parks in older estates are experiencing a growing strain as more car owners find it hard to locate lots close to their destinations.
(Besides ramping up parking spaces, HDB is looking into implementing mechanised parking systems that can help to save space. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)
One such driver is Yishun Ring Road resident Amos Tan, 32. Tan told The Straits Times of the difficulty in finding a lot on weekdays after he ends his shift as a retail manager. “It's a game of cat and mouse sometimes, especially on the nights I finish work late. In the end, I'm forced to park far away from my block.”
Such situations are common despite priority given to the first car of each household. Limited parking spaces for non-residents are reduced further at night. Additionally, more car parks are operating on an Electronic Pricing System, which charges by the minute to discourage overstaying.
To address the problem, the Housing Board (HDB) will build an additional 1,600 parking lots next year, as part of a $66 million programme to boost supply. The Board will also look into the feasibility of mechanised car parks.
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan spoke of the matter on his blog, noting that car ownership patterns among HDB households have changed. For instance, four-room flats in older estates were planned with 560 parking spaces for every 1,000 units. “This was adequate in the past, but not anymore. More Singaporeans now own cars, and some own more than one car,” he said.
In fact, The Straits Times reported that about 40% of households living in HDB flats own at least one car—a more than 25% jump from figures in 2005.
To keep up with the steady increase in car ownership figures, newer HDB estates are now built with 710 parking spaces per 1,000 units. “With the new norms, new HDB flats will come with adequate car parks,” said Khaw. In the past two years, the Board has already created 3,400 parking lots.
However, the very factor that plagues Singapore’s housing woes also affects car park construction: limited land. With older estates, where roads, amenities and businesses are established, there is limited space to build new car parks or expand on old ones. According to Khaw, out of the 1,800 car parks around the island, about 220 of them—in Serangoon, Tampines, Jurong West, and Yishun Ring Road—face “localised shortages”.
The minister explained that one solution to the constraint was mechanised parking systems. The system, according to former MP Ang Mong Seng—who had studied the system in China and presented the idea to Khaw—was cheaper, more reliable, and less space-consuming.
Khaw noted such parking systems can already be found in places like Thomson Medical Centre and the National Heart Centre. The parking system found in M-Park@Club Street, for one, car park allows drivers to stop their cars in a car-lift and key in their PIN. The system will park their cars; drivers can later retrieve their vehicles at the waiting area.
Speaking of the mechanised parking systems, Khaw explained, “I have asked HDB to study this solution, evaluating the different technologies available, and working through implementation issues, such as waiting time for car retrieval, breakdowns and public acceptance. If these issues can be sorted out, HDB should try it out.”
Meanwhile, Yishun Ring Road resident Tan is looking forward to HDB providing more parking spaces for his estate. He told The Straits Times, “Hopefully then, I will not need to take a 10-minute tour of the estate before reaching my door.”
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