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  Channel NewsAsia 16 Nov 05
East Coast Park to get S$160m upgrade
By Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia

The Straits Times 17 Nov 05
$160 million plan to transform East Coast Park
 by Daryl Loo

Today Online 17 Nov 05
East Coast Park, 30, gets a facelift
Better accessibility, carparks, gardens in $160mil revamp
Tor Ching Li chingli@newstoday.com.sg

EAST Coast Park will get a $160-million facelift in several waves of redevelopment: and you can have a say on what should be done.

Announcing the East Coast Park Concept Plan yesterday, Mr Kong Yit San, NParks' director of parks said: "While NParks has over the years continually upgraded the basic amenities in the park, it is timely that we now rejuvenate the park to meet the increasing demand for use of the park."

Developed some 30 years ago, East Coast Park now draws about 7 million visits annually. Mr Kong hopes to improve the accessibility of the park—in terms of getting there and within it—to cater to at least 8 million visits per year by 2015.

The developments will be carried out in phases from 2007 to 2010 so as to minimise disturbances to users.

From now till Jan 2 next year, NParks is seeking public feedback on the types of activities and amenities people would like to see at East Coast Park. An onsite survey conducted between March and April last year of 500 park users indicated that they wanted enhanced accessibility, intra-park connectivity and more amenities.

Based on these findings, a concept plan has been drawn up and displayed at East Coast Park Area C3, near MacDonald's. Members of the public can provide their feedback onsite regarding the proposals for the development of a pedestrian garden link; making the 10 existing underpasses more user-friendly; introducing a tram or shuttle bus internal transport system; and providing more parking space.

Some ideas being looked at include a visitor centre to provide a "sense of arrival", which may be located near the pedestrian garden link, weekend flea markets and gardens with facilities that can be used across all ages.

Already in the works to be completed by the middle of next year is a 1.5ha Bougainvillea Garden, costing nearly $2 million, located along the stretch of park in the direction to Changi Airport. Mr Kong said the garden, with its Bougainvillea trellis and tower, should provide an "explosion of colours".

For those with a taste for extreme sports, East Coast Park will be the place to go with the launch of Singapore's first Cable Ski Park around March next year. Cable skiing, an activity similar to water skiing, involves the skier being pulled by an overhead cable suspended above the water's surface instead of by a boat. The $2-million Cable Ski Park Ski360 will bring water sports such as wakeboarding and water-skiing inland within the salt water East Coast Lagoon. The estimated cost of one-hour tickets will range from $35 to $45 compared to the hourly boat rental rate of $80 to $120. Since the first cable ski park opened in Spain in 1966, there are now 150 cable parks worldwide. In Asia, such facilities can be found in Batam and Thailand.

Said Mr Derek Leong, vice-president of the Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation: "The opening of Ski360 will allow more people to enjoy this sport as it is more affordable, and this may in turn increase our pool of talent."

Also, with the introduction of bermed—or landscaped—carparks, NParks hopes to add around 500 more parking lots to the existing 3,300 lots. "The last thing we need to see at East Coast Park are multi-storey carparks. Bermed carparks will be constructed within the landscaped profile to complement the park ambience," said Mr Kong.

An internal shuttle will also encourage the use of currently less utilised carparks and link activity centres, hence improving connectivity within the park.

Questions in the survey form—also available online at www.nparks.gov.sg—include how much users would be willing to pay for the use of such facilities.

The envisioned pedestrian garden link will provide a lush stretch from Marine Parade Central to the East Coast Park.

According to Mr Kong, NParks will be conducting a traffic impact study with the Land Transport Authority to assess the feasibility of such enhancements, as well as the overall needs of park users.

Channel NewsAsia 16 Nov 05
East Coast Park to get S$160m upgrade
By Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : East Coast Park, Singapore's largest and most popular beach park, is getting a S$160 million facelift. The work will be done over four years, from 2007.

And the National Parks Board, which runs the 185 hectare park, wants public views on how to improve the country's favourite recreation site.

It also announced that Singapore's first Cable Ski Park will be ready by next March at the East Coast Lagoon.

East Coast Park was developed 30 years ago. But a recent survey by NParks showed accessibility to and connectivity within the park could be enhanced. So it came up with a concept plan to look at improving amenities and activities there. Among the plans are a pedestrian garden linking Marine Parade to the park, a main entrance and a visitor centre as focal points, and a people mover system with buses, trams, even buggies to take park users around.

For those who drive, 500 more parking lots will be added to the current 3,300, and all will be converted into two storey underground carparks complete with landscaping. The 10 underpasses will also get a facelift, and a bougainvillea park, costing more than a million dollars is planned to add colour.

Expected to be completed by 2010, the changes would not be introduced at one go. Said Kong Yit San, director of NParks, "Over these four years, then we will see how we implement the changes in stages. We will be doing that so that we do not disrupt the park or park users because this park will have to be constantly open to park users."

For a start, a 300-metre long Cable Ski Park will open in a few months. Using a hanging cable instead of a boat, it offers both skiing and wakeboarding.

Said Paul Fong of the Singapore Waterski and Wakeboard Federation, "I think this is a good avenue for the masses to try it as a cheaper alternative for most people. You can get more people doing it at the same time -- up to 10 people and 300 a day."

But for many park users, convenience is still a priority. "I hope there will be more bus services," one park user said. "Possibly the toilet facilities and the shower facilities at East Coast Park are not up to standard," another said.

You can give your views and suggestions to NParks either at the park itself or through the NParks website at www.nparks.gov.sg until 2 January 2006. All the feedback would be considered and the outcome announced in mid 2006. - CNA /ct

The Straits Times 17 Nov 05
$160 million plan to transform East Coast Park
 by Daryl Loo

SINGAPORE'S largest and most popular public park will be getting a whole new look.

A $160 million, five-year plan for East Coast Park will add new gardens and facilities, covered carparks and an overhead garden-bridge linking the park with Marine Parade Central.

The park, which stretches more than 20km along Singapore's south-eastern beachfront, now draws about seven million visits a year.

But after 30 years, it is due for a comprehensive upgrade 'to meet increasing future demand', said National Parks Board (NParks) chief operating officer Leong Chee Chiew.

And it wants park users to have their say on how to make it better. To that end, the board has released a concept plan detailing proposed upgrades for the park. The plan was conceived after NParks conducted a survey of 500 East Coast Park users over a two-week period last year.

NParks' director of parks Kong Yit San said: 'Most people find it difficult to move from area to area within the park.' And on weekends, tailbacks are common as vehicles jostle for limited parking spaces.

This is why most of the proposed changes will be to make the park more accessible, said Mr Kong. For instance, the nine underpasses leading to the park - mostly dank and dark affairs - will get facelifts to make them more attractive and easier to find.

Eleven of the existing carparks will be converted to 'bermed carparks', meaning they will go underground and multi-level, with landscaping added on top. This will add about 500 lots to the 3,300 in the park.

NParks also wants a system of transporting people in the park from one point to another, possibly on buses, trams or buggies.

Also planned: A visitor centre, more facilities for outdoor sports, organised weekend events like flea markets, and more food and beverage outlets. Work will be carried out in phases starting in 2007 and will be completed in 2010.

Already confirmed to be built next year are a cable ski park at the site of the former East Coast Lagoon - where visitors can wakeboard and waterski without renting a boat - and a new Bougainvillea Garden.

But none of the other changes are set in stone yet. Singaporeans can have their say on what else goes into the park through a public consultation exercise that will be on till Jan 2 next year.

People can see the concept plan and offer their views at a tent set up in Area C3 of East Coast Park, near the Singapore Tennis Centre, or online at www.nparks.gov.sg

Most park users interviewed were enthusiastic about the changes, especially the new overhead bridge, which they felt would make the park easier and safer to get to.

Said student Mak Cheng Cheng, 21: 'I don't like to use the underpass. It doesn't feel safe.' But technician Jackson Chia, 42, was against the idea of buses or trams within the park. 'The park is already very crowded, especially on weekends. I don't see the need for more vehicles moving about.'
links
On the NParks website: View the East Coast Park Concept Plan online exhibition and give your views!
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