STB consulting industry players before announcing plans to bring more zip to Singapore's retail heart
SINGAPORE) It is at the heart of Singapore's retail sector, but with an estimated 1.5 million visitors flocking to Orchard Road every week, it could do with some serious help.
Less fuss, more buzz soon: STB says details of pedestrian mall improvement works on Orchard Road will be released shortly. But retailers are keener on an amelioration of the traffic situation, which they say is so bad that it requires an in-depth overhaul, not just cosmetic surgery. That could come soon, with the announcement of a masterplan by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Retailers, however, say that the traffic situation is serious enough to warrant an in-depth overhaul, rather than just cosmetic surgery.
STB would not say what is in store except that details of pedestrian mall improvement works would be released shortly.
Sources, however, say that there are plans to reduce the number of lanes on Orchard Road and widen the pedestrian mall. And there could also be a separate initiative by the government to provide covered linkages between the malls.
It is understood that STB had recently engaged Orchard Road stakeholders for their views and is now in the process of re-evaluating this feedback.
The $40 million makeover was first mooted in Parliament in early 2005.
A year later, the inter-agency Orchard Road Rejuvenation Taskforce (ORRT) said that the work to transform the shopping strip would begin in early 2007.
Work has yet to begin in earnest - save for a crosswalk lighting project at Bideford Junction - and the hold-up appears to be the proposed plan to reduce the number of lanes in Orchard Road, as well as the cost of improved infrastructure like covered linkways.
Singapore Retailers Association executive director Lau Chuen Wei said that what retailers and businesses want is a solution to the traffic flow, 'so that people going to Orchard Road can navigate the junctions, side roads and merging traffic more easily'. She added: 'Closing off a lane to make way for pretty trees and lamp-posts is not really a solution.'
There are no secondary service roads for certain stretches of Orchard Road, so goods deliveries have to be made via the main thoroughfare, clogging up lanes. 'What Orchard Road needs urgently is an in-depth study of traffic flow to ease congestion. It's not a matter of imposing toll charges, but actual infrastructure,' Ms Lau said.
There have been suggestions that a whole system of covered linkways and underground passages be built to improve connectivity, but Steven Goh, spokesman for the Orchard Road Business Association, notes that some of the existing underground links are not really utilised.
Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) managing director Donald Han reckons $40 million may be enough for 'cosmetic surgery' like the provision of street furniture and interactive street light crossings but may not be enough for 'major transplant operations' such as providing more subsidies for shopping centre owners to link buildings.
Orchard Road is nevertheless popular. In a recent C&W report, it was noted that Orchard Road sees about 1.5 million visitors every week. And even if it is not the most popular shopping street in the world, it is at least ranked by C&W as the 13th most expensive in terms of rental.
Mr Han said: 'To be fair, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and STB have gone a long way in their efforts to revitalise Orchard Road.' There are now street vendors, kiosks, restaurants, coffee bars on the walkways. 'In the past, these were not allowed,' he added.
The real revamp of Orchard Road is likely to be in the hands of developers like Hong Kong-based Park Hotel Group (PHG), which bought the old Crown Hotel in 2005 and now plans to redevelop it into a high-end shopping mall and boutique hotel.
For PHG director Allen Law, the proposition to buy and redevelop the old hotel is a no-brainer. 'Orchard Road is one of the best roads to walk along - the weather is nice, the air is clean, and there is a lot of greenery to enjoy. People don't want another air-conditioned mall filled with all the standard brand names; they want an experience. Focusing on the uniqueness is vital to success,' he said.
CapitaLand is another developer with a big stake in Orchard Road through its upcoming Ion Orchard shopping mall.
CapitaLand Retail CEO Pua Sek Guan is equally bullish on the strip's future. And as iconic as Ion is going to be, Mr Pua understands that the Orchard Road experience 'cannot be re-created in one mall alone'.
Although Ion will not have a covered walkway to the neighbouring mall, Mr Pua said CapitaLand will be creating a 3,000 square metre public space fitted out with water features, LED screens and audio systems for public entertainment. The cost? 'It's not a small sum,' he said.
Tangs CEO Foo Tiang Sooi says he is all for 'strengthening the precinct' too. The revamp, when the details are announced, may indeed have some adverse changes but Mr Foo says: 'One has to take a broader view.'
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