Assessing Need for Traffic Speed Regulating Measures in Housing Estates
Ministry of TransportSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the criteria for traffic speed regulating measures in housing estates and their review frequency, as raised by Ms Joan Pereira. Minister Khaw Boon Wan explained that measures like speed strips and Silver Zones are implemented based on safety needs for vulnerable road users and local accident rates. He stated that accident statistics are monitored continuously and infrastructure is reviewed whenever there are significant changes to the built environment. These measures are complemented by Traffic Police enforcement operations and speed cameras to ensure motorists adhere to lower speed limits. Minister Khaw Boon Wan also agreed to discuss specific concerns regarding speeding and noisy exhausts on Alexandra Road with the Traffic Police.
Transcript
4 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport (a) what are the criteria to assess the need for traffic speed regulating measures in a housing estate; and (b) how often are these measures reviewed to assess their adequacy after the measures are installed.
The Minister for Transport (Mr Khaw Boon Wan): Sir, the main objective of regulating traffic speed is to enhance safety of road users. For roads serving residential estates, LTA would set lower speed limits. LTA would then implement traffic speed regulating measures to remind motorists to keep to the speed limits. Such measures include warning signs or markings, speed regulating strips and road humps.
To further enhance the safety of vulnerable roads users, such as school children and elderly pedestrians, LTA would also implement special schemes. All Primary and Secondary schools have School Zones along their frontage. School Zone features include speed regulating strips and red-textured road surfaces to alert drivers to slow down.
Silver Zones are implemented in residential areas with a large elderly population and a relatively higher accident rate involving the elderly. Silver Zone features include pinch-points to narrow, and chicanes to curve the road, to get motorists to slow down.
In addition, accident statistics are monitored on an ongoing basis to assess the adequacy of the speed regulating measures. LTA also conducts a review whenever there are substantial changes to the built environment around the road.
Such infrastructural speed regulating measures are complemented by the Traffic Police's speed enforcement cameras and regular enforcement operations.
Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): I thank the Minister for his reply. Can I request LTA to work with the Traffic Police to take enforcement action against speeding vehicles with very noisy exhaust engines and they rev their engines when they speed? Because this causes great disturbances to our residents, very often giving them rude shocks and this happens very often along Alexandra Road, an area where I serve. May I request LTA to install a camera along this stretch of road?
Mr Khaw Boon Wan: I will ask LTA to discuss with the Traffic Police. I happen to be quite familiar with Alexandra Road; my office is along that stretch. My experience so far has been relatively pleasant. I do not encounter speeding and noisy exhaust, as related by the Member. But I, too, dislike motorists with noisy exhausts. If, indeed, there are many such incidents, we will try to fix it.