Railing for a Special Green Corridor in Singapore
I read this online ST Forum article espousing the benefits of converting the soon-to-be abandoned Malayan Railway into a green corridor and thought this is a great idea worth discussing further.
The benefits of green corridors (we call them Park Connectors here) for green connectivity and for healthy lifestyle activities is common knowledge. We can use Park Connectors to enjoy Nature in Singapore – walks, jogs and bike rides etc. It’s important enough to be a budget item in our Singapore Budget 2010!
I also see green corridors as providing connections for an exchange of flora and fauna, helping fragmented habitats to gain more diversity. Our railway is strategic in that it passes near Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and can connect it to the North and South of Singapore. With so many developments around the nature reserve, the green corridor may help to give the reserve more room to breathe?
Beyond the above obvious and practical reasons, I guess I took away enough from school (social science module about changing landscapes of Singapore and environmental planning module) to give some thought on spaces and landscapes. Having heritage and green spaces can mean a lot to urbanites like us here in Singapore. The heritage creates a sense of belonging. The green increases our sense of well-being. I think of having a green railway corridor as killing two birds with one stone, i.e. creating a landscape for heritage and nature at the same time.
Ok, maybe I am just being sentimental here. My family takes the railway to my dad’s hometown every Chinese New Year without fail. I am sure many other families here and on the other side of the causeway have similar memories. Now wouldn’t it be nice to convert the railway (keeping some of the tracks) into a space where we can spend time reminiscing about this piece of history, telling our young ones of how it used to be etc etc. And we can get some fresh air while at it! Sure, maybe not the entire railway track can become a green pathway (I know it probably crosses some very prime areas). But development doesn’t have to wipe out all traces of history and can still give nature some room to flourish, right?
Greening abandoned railway tracks is also not something new. It’s already been done in the very cosmopolitan New York and Paris. New York’s High Line, an elevated railway track has been converted into a park described by reporters as a “dramatic” and “trendy” green space. It was also inspired by Promenade Plantée, a Parisian garden walkway delight converted from a disused railway line.
Singapore, are you inspired?
