5 new gantries to form S'pore River cordon, as speeds down to 18kmh; negative retail impact unlikely
WHEN an Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) cordon went up around the Orchard Road area in 2005, there were concerns not just from motorists but from retailers as well.
These businesses were worried that the move would drive customers away.
The Government's counter: The measures were necessary to keep up the buzz of the shopping belt as traffic had slowed down to 15kmh on Orchard Road.
Not everyone was convinced, but the gantries went up and ERP hours were extended to Saturdays and for an hour more on weekdays. The aim: To discourage motorists from using the shopping belt as a way of getting to other destinations, such as Marina Bay.
Three years on, a study has shown that vehicles have indeed been able to move along faster. Traffic speeds went up to 25kmh and have since stabilised at an average of 23kmh; the volume of traffic has shrunk by 20 per cent.
And the retailers have stopped complaining - shoppers are still making their way to the strip.
Orchard Road Business Association spokesman Stephen Goh noted that the cordon had noticeably reduced the amount of pass-through traffic on weekday afternoons.
'The overall effect is something positive because what we are left with are the 'real shoppers', not people just using the road to get elsewhere.'
The Transport Ministry presented the positive effects of the Orchard Road cordon on Thursday, ahead of giving updates for the second cordon in the business district, which will take effect in July.
The five gantries in the new cordon - at Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road and two at Fullerton Road - will begin evening operations to reduce traffic going through the Singapore River area. This kind of traffic now makes up more than a third of the traffic in the area.
The Land Transport Review first pointed out in January that a motorist travelling in the area - say, from Bugis to Chinatown - can now go at only 18kmh, down from 25kmh five years ago.
With the Singapore River cordon of gantries, the commercial and shopping areas of Bugis, Marina Centre and Bras Basah will be separated from the office areas of Shenton Way and Raffles Place.
Yesterday, construction work began on two of the five new gantries. Already, some businesses in the area are jittery about what this could mean for them.
Mr Colin MacDonald, the outgoing president of the Boat Quay Business Association, said: 'It seems to go against the tourism board's intention of injecting life and vibrancy into the river area.
'If locals are put off because of the charges, tourists are likely to follow suit.'
But the Singapore Retailers Association said it had not received complaints from its members in the area, and that there were few retail shops there anyway.
Said Ms Lau Chuen Wei, the association's executive director: 'Most of the shops along the river area are specialist shops; shoppers can plan their shopping trips there around the gantry timings.'
The Esplanade said it did not think the gantries would be a 'significant deterrent to patrons genuinely interested in catching arts performances at the centre'.
The Transport Ministry said the concern of some stakeholders thus far was not how business would be affected, but whether enough taxis would ply the area.
It said it was working with taxi operators to provide rebates for cabbies who cannot find fares when they enter the ERP zones. At the moment, only ComfortDelGro has such a scheme to give rebates to its cabbies.
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