Measures to improve traffic, safety in Little India

Measures to improve traffic, safety in Little India

Traffic in Little India will be smoother, crowd control will be improved and overall safety will receive a boost with the trebling of police cameras.

These were among the measures outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean to improve the situation in the ethnic enclave since the Dec 8 riot.

He was responding to a recommendation made by the Committee of Inquiry into the unrest, which called for more lighting and for safety and surveillance devices to be installed in areas with large congregations of foreign workers. To boost road safety and traffic flow, Campbell Lane will be converted into a pedestrian mall by the first quarter of next year.

Lembu Road has been closed to vehicular traffic from noon to midnight every Sunday since last month. Two new traffic lights, to be installed along Serangoon Road, will also be synchronised with existing crossings, said Mr Teo. More lighting is being installed at 44 spots in Little India. Permanent shelters and queue heads will be ready by the first quarter of next year, while issues like bus service timings will be monitored to curb overcrowding.

The number of police cameras in Little India has more than doubled to 250, from 113 pre-riot, with another 88 to be progressively installed by December 2015.

Police presence has been strengthened, with 20 to 30 more pairs of boots deployed every weekend alongside a dedicated Special Operations Command troop. This is complemented by 81 auxiliary police officers and private security officers, which police are looking at raising to 93.

Mr Teo said: "Police will continue to monitor the situation and calibrate the manpower and other measures deployed accordingly."

Alcohol restrictions have also been imposed within a 1.1 sq km restricted area under the Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Act. Legislation on the sale and public consumption of alcohol will be introduced within the next six months, before the Act expires in March 2015, Mr Teo said.


This article was first published on July 08, 2014.
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