Serangoon Gardens
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2010) |
 Serangoon Gardens at dusk |
|
| English | Serangoon Gardens |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 实龙岗花园 |
| – Pinyin | Shílónggānghuāyuán |
| Malay | Taman Serangoon |
| Tamil | சிரங்கூன் பூங்கா |
Serangoon Gardens Estate is a residential estate in Singapore. The estate is well known for its food centres and tuition centers.
Contents |
[edit] History
Serangoon Gardens is one of the oldest estates on the island, and was built in the 1950s. The estate was built to house the British soldiers based in Singapore. The roads have British road names. When the British military left Singapore in 1971, Serangoon Gardens was an estate for the middle class.
The estate was upgraded in 2001 as part of the Singapore Government's plan to improve the older private housing estates in Singapore. Open roadside drains were covered up. It has new streetlights and road signs, and the estate's parks were also upgraded.
Serangoon Garden Circus was used as one of the locations for the country-wide millennium celebrations.
[edit] Electoral boundaries
Until 1988, Serangoon Gardens was a single seat constituency. When the Group Representative Constituency was introduced, Serangoon Gardens became part of the GRC. Since then, it has been part of the Marine Parade GRC. Under the 2006 Electoral Boundaries, it was transferred to Aljunied GRC. This was purportedly done to split up the famously pro-opposition estate.[citation needed]
[edit] Attractions
The food and beverage outlets and tuition centres are located in the estate's central area. Serangoon Garden Circus is at the centre of the estate. In this vicinity, there are cafés, restaurants, coffee shops, fast food restaurants, a market, two hawker centres, a post office, a police post, eight tuition centers and some shops.
All the roads radiate from the circus, and the houses are located within walking distance. The estate has a tennis and squash centre at Burghley Drive. At Kensington Park Road, there is a country club known as Serangoon Gardens Country Club which had the very popular Jumbo seafood restaurant. Jumbo closed and there is now a Yum Cha Chinese restaurant there.
[edit] Amenities
Situated behind Maju Avenue is Paramount Building which was developed as Serangoon Garden Village in 2001. It hosts a supermarket on the ground floor and a tuition centre on the second floor. A new small shopping mall will open in its place with NTUC Fairprice and a branch of DBS bank as its anchor tenants.[1]
There is an increasing number of expatriates living in the area, due to the fact that the Australian, French and American International Schools have opened within the vicinity of Serangoon Gardens.
[edit] Tuition haven
Serangoon Gardens is also fast becoming a tuition agency haven for students. With eight tuition centres operating in that small area e.g. Ace Scorers Learning Centre, Jing Cheng Education Centre, Clear minds, KipMcgrath, Novel, Han Language, Budding Minds Education Centre.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Public transport
The estate is served by public bus services. In addition, on weekday mornings from 7.30am to 9am, licensed private bus operators operate an express service plying between Serangoon Gardens and the city centre. The nearest MRT station is Serangoon MRT Station on the North East and Circle lines at Upper Serangoon Road. Lorong Chuan MRT Station is another nearby option, especially for residents living further away from the central Serangoon Gardens area.
Service 317 plies the Serangoon Garden Estate internally. The rest ply Serangoon Garden Circus.
| Service | From | To | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBS Transit Trunk Services | |||
| 73 | Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange | Toa Payoh Bus Interchange | |
| 136 | Ang Mo Kio Bus Interchange | Punggol Bus Interchange | |
| SBS Transit Feeder Services | |||
| 315 | Serangoon Bus Interchange | Serangoon North Avenue 4 (loop) | |
| 317 | Serangoon Bus Interchange | Berwick Drive (loop) | |
[edit] Private transport
There is only one main road leading into the estate. Several upgrades to the road have been made to ensure smooth traffic flow.
[edit] Security
The area's popularity has made it the scene of counter-terrorism activities, with regular armed patrols by the Singapore Police Force's Police Tactical Unit. On 15 January 2006, a public emergency drill, the Serangoon Emergency and Preparedness Day 2006, was conducted in the estate near the Chomp Chomp Food Centre. The exercise involved a simulated vehicular explosion with casualties, the closure of roads and diversion of traffic, and casualty treatment and evacuation.[2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
