Problem
Shelter from rain and sun is not a new idea. Raffles introduced the five foot way. Five foot wide, wide enough for two people to pass without forcing somebody out into the rain, the sun, the gutter.
I walk along the pavement and a pram, bicycle or scooter forces me against the wall which ladders my clothes, or out into the road and passing cars. I bump people with my bag or get bumbped by their when i walk along. A husband and wife with two children block the entire pavement. I am passing in the corridor. I reach the ladies toilet and there is a queue at the ladies toilet, no room to enter and exit and get to the wash basins. The idea of the five foot way was great.\
Waiting for a bus or a taxi, where are the benches with backs, and the shelter. Even the long shelters for bus passengers fill up fast.
Covered ways are being built between the stations of the MRT (mass transit railway) and the nearby housing estates and schools. That is excellent.
But what about Orchard Road. Between the Paragon shopping mall (with Metro department store and lots of upmarket shops), local people and foreign visitors are stranded or drenched.
I came out of Paragon and along with many tourists was stranded. Waited twenty minutes. Yes, if you can afford it you can get a taxi - but then you would be leaving the Orchard Road shops and denying them purchases of clothes, souvenirs, food and drinks. I eventually got drenched going back towards Orchard MRT via Tangs department store. Yes, Tangs is linked to the MRT. But the shoppers here at the Paragon are cut off from Tangs.
I thought: How about crossing the road from the Paragon to Ngee Ann City opposite? On second thoughts: I am not dashing across a busy road in the wet. Yes, there's an underpass from the next mall to Ngee Ann City. But how do I get from the Paragon to the next mall?
Am I going to cross to Ngee Ann City to visit the Kinokunia boostore? No. My bags and clothes are soaking wet. I am not buying books to get soaking wet.
To attract shoppers from one end of Orchard Road to the other, and from one side to the other, the street needs covered ways all the way along.
The same applies to other cities. Pedestrian ways in London's Oxford Street,or Windsor, are no use in the rain. Shopkeepers know that on rainy days shoppers don't come out. Do they realize that shoppers who are already out won't stay out?
Come on, business associations,city planners, councils and governments. Do a favour to the shops, shoppers, tourists, economy, and the ordinary citizens. You only have to look at a rainfall calendar to see that cities worldwide need shelter for shoppers.
In England we say, if you want different weather, wait five minutes. If you want to visit England or Singapore, here are some useful websites:
Useful Websites
singaporeair.com (Singapore airlines)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Shelter from rain and sun is not a new idea. Raffles introduced the five foot way. Five foot wide, wide enough for two people to pass without forcing somebody out into the rain, the sun, the gutter.
I walk along the pavement and a pram, bicycle or scooter forces me against the wall which ladders my clothes, or out into the road and passing cars. I bump people with my bag or get bumbped by their when i walk along. A husband and wife with two children block the entire pavement. I am passing in the corridor. I reach the ladies toilet and there is a queue at the ladies toilet, no room to enter and exit and get to the wash basins. The idea of the five foot way was great.\
Waiting for a bus or a taxi, where are the benches with backs, and the shelter. Even the long shelters for bus passengers fill up fast.
Covered ways are being built between the stations of the MRT (mass transit railway) and the nearby housing estates and schools. That is excellent.
But what about Orchard Road. Between the Paragon shopping mall (with Metro department store and lots of upmarket shops), local people and foreign visitors are stranded or drenched.
I thought: How about crossing the road from the Paragon to Ngee Ann City opposite? On second thoughts: I am not dashing across a busy road in the wet. Yes, there's an underpass from the next mall to Ngee Ann City. But how do I get from the Paragon to the next mall?
Am I going to cross to Ngee Ann City to visit the Kinokunia boostore? No. My bags and clothes are soaking wet. I am not buying books to get soaking wet.
To attract shoppers from one end of Orchard Road to the other, and from one side to the other, the street needs covered ways all the way along.
The same applies to other cities. Pedestrian ways in London's Oxford Street,or Windsor, are no use in the rain. Shopkeepers know that on rainy days shoppers don't come out. Do they realize that shoppers who are already out won't stay out?
Come on, business associations,city planners, councils and governments. Do a favour to the shops, shoppers, tourists, economy, and the ordinary citizens. You only have to look at a rainfall calendar to see that cities worldwide need shelter for shoppers.
In England we say, if you want different weather, wait five minutes. If you want to visit England or Singapore, here are some useful websites:
Useful Websites
singaporeair.com (Singapore airlines)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
