ROADS will be closed for the Formula One races over a shorter period this year than last year: just seven days from Sept 23 to 29, instead of last year's 12 days.

The major arterial roads will also be opened during the morning peak hour from 5am to 9am during this period, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said yesterday.

Unlike in Monaco, the roads cannot be closed for just a few hours before the races start, as the race here has unique features that require "substantially more infrastructure" to be put in for safety reasons, he said.

The features: the race is held at night, and its track is longer and wider than Monaco's.

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Transcript of parliament sitting:

Mr Lim Biow Chuan: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs

(a) what are the factors considered by the Police before deciding whether to allow the closure of roads for any sporting events;

(b) how many road closures for sporting events have there been in 2008 and 2009; and

(c) whether there are any plans to minimise such road closures so that they do not inconvenience the residents who live near the locality of the road closures especially in the Tanjong Rhu area.

Mr Wong Kan Seng:

Police and LTA work closely together with event organisers in deciding whether roads should be closed for sporting events.

One important consideration in evaluating applications for road closures is that the motoring public and local community should not be excessively inconvenienced. Hence, the Police and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) take into account whether the events are national events supported by organisations such as the National Sports Council or MCYS, the availability and capacity of alternative routes to cope with the diverted traffic and the number of participants, before approving an application for road closure.

Examples of events that fulfil these criteria include the 'New Paper Big Walk', 'the Aviva Ironman Singapore Triathlon', and the 'Singapore Bay Run and Army Half Marathon'.

LTA and Police have different roles in managing road closures.

LTA's focus is on minimising disruption to traffic flow. In this regard, it will require the event to be held at a suitable time and for a reasonable duration. The route for the event will also be specified. LTA also uses traffic volume data to ascertain the capacity of alternative roads, to ensure that there are sufficient alternatives for those affected by the closures.

Existing platforms like 'Traffic Watch', media releases, radio broadcasts, and the Expressway Monitoring and Advisory System ('EMAS') are used to inform the public in advance. As for the Police, its main role is to ensure that access for emergency vehicles will not be impeded.

In addition, event organisers are required to put up adequate signage and media notices to inform the public and residents of impending road closures, so that they can plan to use the alternative routes. Organisers are also required to engage stakeholders whose premises are located along the roads closed, to address their concerns on access to their premises or disruption to the public transport system.

Police approved 37 requests for road closures for sporting events in 2008, and 22 for the first eight months of 2009.

Mr Lim highlighted the inconvenience caused to residents living in the Tanjong Rhu area.

To facilitate sporting events in the Tanjong Rhu vicinity, there were 4 closures affecting residents living there in 2008 and 3 closures in the first eight months of 2009. Most recently, access to the ECP from Fort Road was closed for the Singapore Bay Run on 16 August 2009.

I would like to assure the Member that measures are taken to minimize the inconvenience of road closures.

For example, alternative routes to the ECP were available via Nicoll Highway and Tanjong Katong Road, both of which were less than five minutes away from Tanjong Rhu. The road closures took place in the early morning from 4.30am to 10am on a Sunday, when traffic is usually light.

We are mindful that the residents living in a particular location should not be unfairly burdened by road closures for the benefit of the sporting public. Applications are carefully considered and only approved after certain mitigation measures are put in place. If excessive inconvenience cannot be mitigated, the application will be rejected, as has been done in the past.