We know how frustrating it is sometimes to own an Electric Bicycle or even a Regular Bicycle in Singapore due to a couple of rules and regulations that you have to adhere to. Despite the cycling paths and park connectors, cycling to certain parts in Singapore is still rather inaccessible. You can’t be cycling on the Singapore Expressways, right?
We can all safely say that currently, the country is not really a cycling-friendly nation yet and it is all because of these 2 factors, Land Shortage and Climate.
Land Shortage
Singapore is home to about 5 million people and has a finite total land area of 700 Km2 (270 sq. miles). The land has been meticulously divided to meet the needs of the country and the category that requires most of our land is of course our residential areas.. Based on the picture above, we can all see how tight Singapore is in terms of space.
Climate
Besides the shortage of land, we have another enemy that discourages us to cycle to our destination and that is the Climate. Singapore’s tropical climate makes it a rather humid and uncomfortable weather to cycle in.
Not to mention if mother nature decides to rain on the day you decide to cycle, that is another issue we will face while on the road especially if you are an E-Bike user.
Singapore is slowly Evolving
Issues regarding Singapore’s climate are beyond anyone’s control. However, the issue regarding Singapore’s shortage of land, efforts have indeed been made by the authorities to encourage Singaporeans to cycle.
As announced in 2013, LTA will build a cycling path network of about 190 kilometres in HDB towns by 2020 as part of The National Cycling Plan involving agencies such as LTA, URA, NParks, HDB, PUB and SportSG to make cycling a safe, healthy and convenient transport option for Singaporeans.
Since it’s announcement, a lot of park connectors have been constructed and opened. Currently, Singapore has 340km of park connectors islandwide. This will be upped to 500km by 2030.
However, given the current Covid-19 situation, we should expect a delay in these advancements.
Conclusion
The answer to the question “Is Singapore a Cycling-Friendly Nation?” is really simply, “Not Yet”. It takes a lot of time and planning to make our cycling dreams come true. In the meantime, it is very important for cyclists to adhere to every rules and regulations issued by LTA to make cycling a safe transportation option. Until then, we should all wait patiently.
What do you think? Are we a Cycling-Friendly Nation?
