We can expect “Engage seniors in plans to boost productivity” in ST Forum, 2 March 2013 will not be the last recommendation. There will be more suggestions surfacing in the course of the discussions on the 2013 Budget.
We know that transport inefficiencies could contribute to low productivity at country level.
People sitting idle waiting in traffic jams are not productive. Many cities pay a high price with motorists burning more fuel and passengers losing precious hours which cannot be replaced. Lost hours once gone cannot be recovered.
Many hours are lost by each and every person in his/her life time due to traffic jams or in slow traffic flow.
In Singapore, we are better off than many cities, but who measures and keeps an eye to determine our productivity at state level?
The lost of total hours of our people in traffic jams and in terms of monetary value must be significant affecting productivity as a whole.
Let us imagine we are able to move 50% faster than at present on our roads. It would mean overall productivity will rise across the board, and surely work-life balance will also improve considerably for all.
An inner-city seamless elevated expressway ring system should be built to reduce congestion on the surface roads.
With less traffic congestion, public buses will be able to have faster turnaround, and use the surface roads to provide a more efficient service and gain higher productivity.
Nagoya, Paris and Chengdu have the ring-road system.
With a ring-expressway system, the luxury of driving short distances cutting across the middle of our island using the surface roads must be discouraged or made costly.
Most people in big cities stay in the country-side far from the CBD. Driving more than 40 km daily is normal. Singaporeans will have to accept driving longer distances too.
We must see the bigger picture in building our infrastructures and bring it up to speed and fast.
Building an extensive seamless elevated-ring expressway to connect N-E-S-W-N going around the fringes of the island to meet the transport needs of 7m people will be expensive. However, I hope it will be considered and built after 2030.
Meanwhile, I hope the Govt will not procrastinate in building a less costly seamless inner-city elevated-ring expressway system in 10 to 17 years.
We already have the elevated expressway at Keppel Rd/Pasir Panjang/West Coast Rd.
To complete the seamless elevated ring system of expressways, LTA should start construction in stages now to extend the existing elevated expressways at Keppel Rd/Pasir Panjang Rd/West Coast Rd to Clementi, Beauty World, Thomson, Ang Mo Kio, Serangoon, Hougang, Eunos, Bedok, Marine Parade, Marina South, Shenton and back to Keppel.
The Govt should learn from Nagoya which has an elevated ring expressway system in their city.
tankoktim 