In a Facebook post on Sunday (6 Sep), Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chief Dr Chee Soon Juan shared that he had witnessed several incidents where cars were driving uncomfortably close to pedestrians along Bukit Batok Block 190 due to absence of a proper footpath.
Dr Chee also attached a couple of pictures taken at the scene that very morning.
“In the short span of an hour while I was there this morning at BB Blk 190, I witnessed a few similar incidents where cars were driving uncomfortably close to pedestrians, many with young children, who had to walk on the road because there isn’t a proper and separate pavement for them,” he wrote in his post.
The first photo shows a car travelling dangerously close to a lady walking with a young child. According to Dr Chee, he witnessed the lady quickly pulling the child closer to her while the car having to swerve outwards to avoid hitting them.
The SDP chief noted that he had spoken to several residents following the numerous almost-accidents, many of whom pointed out that they wish to see a proper pavement constructed along that path as it has been an ordeal for them without one so far.
In fact, one of the residents told him that she had brought the matter to People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukit Batok SMC Murali Pillai last year but was told that if a footpath was built, then the residents would require a shelter to cover the walkway, which is not possible.
Dr Chee asserted that the MPs at Town Council did not seem to have learned the lesson after a fire broke out at Bukit Batok Block 210A last November, which resulted in the death of a resident.
There were complications when the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) wanted to extinguish the blaze as they were unable to use the fire hose reels because the hose reel cabinets were locked. The fire was eventually doused with the use of the fire engine’s water pumps.
“The JRTC [Jurong-Clementi Town Council] must look into this matter and take action before something serious happens. The safety of residents must not be compromised,” he remarked.