President Tan urges govt not to rush plans for Rail Corridor

By Sharon See, Channel NewsAsia, 2 May 2012.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam has urged the government to not rush into coming up with a plan for the Rail Corridor.

He said it is more important to take time to wait for good ideas to come forth.

“Don’t rush into doing things (and) say ‘We must have a plan and we must finish it by 2-3 years’ time’… (Let’s) take our time to study the possibilities,” said Dr Tan.

He was speaking after visiting the “Journey of Possibilities” exhibition at the URA Centre on Wednesday.

The exhibition features about 80 entries comprising 18 winning ideas, 19 honourable mentions, as well as other innovative entries received for Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Ideas Competition. The exhibition also showcases some of the interesting feedback and suggestions received on URA’s Rail Corridor website since its launch in July last year.

Dr Tan said he is happy that Singaporeans of various community groups have expressed great interest in the Rail Corridor.

He said the government should continue to find ways to engage different groups and hear their ideas.

And the URA’s Ideas Competition is a good way to get new ideas.

However, he also said authorities should be flexible in experimenting to find out what works best.

“You try things out, if it does not work, you can change it… I think it may take us up to 10 years before the whole thing settles down into an asset which can be enjoyed by all Singaporeans,” said Dr Tan.

One way this will be done is through the Rail Corridor Partnership, which includes government agencies, interest groups and individuals who were part of the Rail Corridor Consultation Group.

Chaired by Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin, the new partnership now includes agencies such as the Education Ministry, the Singapore Sports Council, the People’s Association and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

They will explore ways to promote community use of the Rail Corridor.

The agencies that have just joined the Rail Corridor Partnership will also gather feedback from the community events organised. This, together with the proposals from the Ideas Competition will set the stage for the Rail Corridor Master Plan.

Source: Channel NewsAsia

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