A new commotion has emerged over the construction of a road through the Bukit Brown cemetery. Residents have split into two groups: one opposing the inconvenience the new road will bring, and the other supporting the lightened traffic that will result.
(Bukit Brown cemetery has been earmarked to for long-term residential use. Image courtesy of Thinkstock.)
The new road, estimated to be 2km long, will cut through Bukit Brown to join Adam Road before the Pan-Island Expressway exits. Work on the new road is slated to begin early 2013.
However Sime Road residents remain displeased with noise and pollution they would have to put up with once the dual four-lane road—which runs right behind their homes—is complete. These residents of the 19 bungalows and semi-detached houses perched along the road are also worried that the new road would cut off their direct access to Kheam Hock Road.
One concerned resident is retiree Daniel Goh, 63, who told The Straits Times that he has met with Land Transport Authority (LTA) officials in October last year. They informed him that an underpass would be constructed off Lornie Road to access Kheam Hock Road. Currently, Sime Road leads to Kheam Hock Road, which then takes motorists to Dunearn or Bukit Timah Road.
However Goh, a resident since 1987, felt the proposed underpass required a longer, more inconvenient drive. He also feared that should there be an accident on the new road, the heavy traffic could be diverted back to Lornie Road and block up that carriageway.
He said, “We are very worried. They are going to choke off our entrance and exit.”
He added that it was “mind-boggling” for the LTA to want to create a new road with eight lanes instead of just expanding Lornie Road, which has seven lanes going both directions.
Grassroots leader and charman of the Dunearn Neighbourhood Committee Michael Ng told The Straits Times that about 30 residents, representing half of some 50-60 Lornie Road and Sime Road households affected, had showed up at the October LTA meeting. He noted that during the meeting, LTA officials only showed a map of the proposed road. He said they were unable to confirm the exact alignment of the road then, as the LTA had yet to take into account the positions of the graves.
“The residents know the road will come out from Adam Road, but how near to or how far from their homes, they don't know,” he said.
No other meetings with the authority have been scheduled.
Meanwhile, Lornie Road residents eagerly expect less traffic on the currently congested carriageway, when it gets reduced to a dual two-lane road once the Bukit Brown road is finished in 2016. Wallace Way resident Georgina Chin told The Straits Times that with the new road, there should be fewer instances of heavy traffic and speeding cars towards Adam Road, making it easier for residents to turn out to Lornie Road.
Commenting on the current situation, she said, “The noise is awful. I genuinely look forward to the noise level going down.”
Other parties opposing the new road are heritage groups. For one, the Singapore Heritage Society said in a position paper that it was “deeply disappointed” with the authority’s decision to resume plans to build the road. It also urged the government to consider “alternatives that would not destroy the heritage value in the cemetery”.
Previously, the LTA reported that the road would only affect about 5,000 (5%) of the 100,000 Bukit Brown graves. Urban Redevelopment Authority has earmarked the area for long-term residential use.
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