Very Well Thought Out

Transport Minister Liu Tuck Yew does not think road-design issues caused the epic traffic snarls on the first day of operation of the Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE). His confidence in his own words is coloured by the acknowledgement that it would take two or three weeks to determine whether that was the true situation report.

If indeed the road-design was well conceived and thought out, why are tweaks still needed for Singapore's most expensive expressway? That the Land Transport Authority (LTA) could "immediately" convert a 2-lane turn off to 4-lanes at the snap of a finger on day one suggests that construction and/or land-issue constraint was not the issue, but someone simply failed to engage his brains when embarking on such a mega infrastructure undertaking. On the other hand, the planners did pay special attention on other revenue generation aspects.

Thanks to the well-thought out road-design, motorists using Ophir Road to get to Sheares Avenue to access the MCE will have to pay to enter the Central Business District (CBD), even though they have no intention of entering the CBD. Motorists exiting MCE to get to Rochor Road will also have to pay to enter the CBD, even though they have no intention of entering the CBD. Welcome to the latest ERP death trap. To avoid the hefty toll charges, motorists will just have design their own route.

The full page "Traffic Advisory For Motorists", costing something in the region of $25,000, should have been published days in advance of the grand opening of the MCE, not afterwards, as an after thought. Certainly money was not a constraining factor, the ERP tolls collected will more than cover the expense.