Jump to content

Sengkang New Town: Difference between revisions

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Sengkang (talk | contribs)
38,820 edits
Fernvale (talk | contribs)
3,822 edits
Line 269: Line 269:
* [http://www.amktc.org.sg/ Ang Mo Kio Town Council.]
* [http://www.amktc.org.sg/ Ang Mo Kio Town Council.]
* [http://www.centralsingapore.org.sg/site/home/index.html Central Singapore Community Development Council.]
* [http://www.centralsingapore.org.sg/site/home/index.html Central Singapore Community Development Council.]
* [http://jalankayu.community.org.sg/ Jalan Kayu Community Centre.]
* [http://www.northeast.org.sg/ Northeast Community Development Council.]
* [http://www.northeast.org.sg/ Northeast Community Development Council.]
* [http://www.northeast.org.sg/pasirris_new/ Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Town Portal.]
* [http://www.northeast.org.sg/pasirris_new/ Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Town Portal.]

Revision as of 12:40, 7 March 2006

Sengkang New Town
Sengkang is highlighted on this map
Sengkang is highlighted on this map
English: Sengkang
Chinese: 盛港
Pinyin: Shèng Gǎng
Malay: Sengkang
Tamil:
Demographics
Region: North-East Region
Total area: 10.55 km²
Residential area: 5.07 km²
Dwelling units: 37,596
Projected ultimate: 95,000
Population: 123,500

Sengkang New Town (盛港新镇) is a relatively young satellite residential town in the city-state of Singapore. Originally a fishing village, it is presently undergoing rapid development under the ambition of the Housing and Development Board's (HDB's) of transforming it into "one of the premier towns of the 21st century". The town now comprises 4 large neighbourhoods. Sengkang is one of the 55 urban planning areas outlined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority for long-term land use planning purposes.

Location

Sungei Punggol with the Sengkang Light Rail Transit line viaduct

Sengkang New Town is situated to the north of Hougang New Town, in the north-eastern part of Singapore, under the North-East Region as defined by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The town is bounded by the Tampines Expressway (TPE) to the north, Sungei Serangoon (Serangoon River) to the east, Buangkok Drive to the south and Jalan Kayu to the west. Sungei Punggol (Punggol River) cuts through the new town, and divides the town into Sengkang East and Sengkang West. The Sengkang Town Centre is located in Sengkang East.

Etymology and history

A typical apartment block in Anchorvale Gardens, showing the characteristic 'pilotis' effect on the column facade.

Sengkang, means "prosperous harbour" in Chinese. The name comes from a road called Lorong Sengkang, off Lorong Buangkok. The area was formerly known as Kangkar (Gang Jiao 港脚) or "foot of the port" as there was once a fishing port located along Sungei Serangoon. Fishing villages and rubber and pepper plantations flourished in the area in the old days.

Before the town was developed into a modern housing estate, the area was home to vegetable and pig farms, and tropical forests. The only public housing estate then was the Punggol Rural Centre, comprising a few low-rise residential blocks, located along Punggol Road. These blocks at the rural centre have since been demolished in 2005, to make way for future high-rise residential apartment blocks.

Sengkang's rich history is today reflected in the design of its housing, seen in the three-storey 'pilotis' or stilt effect that all the housing blocks have, reminiscent of the stilts of fishing villages and trunks of the various plantations of bygone years.

The town's first apartment blocks (known locally as flats) at Rivervale were completed in 1997. By Aug 2001, about 33,700 dwelling units have been completed.

Main highlights

Sengkang Sculpture Park

Sengkang's two main rivers (Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon) bring life through the town with a network of green connectors along their banks, linking housing precincts to neighbourhood parks, and in the future, to the town park and sports complex as well. Eventually, these park connectors will be linked to the future Coney Island Park in Punggol New Town and the existing Punggol Park in the south, to better serve the recreational needs of the residents of Sengkang. Another highlight is the Sengkang Sculpture Park, located in Compassvale, which is an elongated green space created below the Sengkang Light Rail Transit (LRT) viaducts.

Sengkang is also the first satellite new town in Singapore to have its major public transport amenities built in tandem with the main public housing development. The main heavy rail tunnels through Sengkang and the elevated track infrastructure of the intra-town Sengkang Light Rail Transit (LRT) system were developed as the existing public housing blocks were being built in the late 1990s.

Sengkang has an e-community at Sengkang.com.

Neighbourhoods

File:Compassvale wall tile mural, Nov 05.JPG
Wall tile mural at Compassvale

Sengkang New Town is divided into 4 major neighbourhoods, arranged from east to west:

Transportation facilities

City planners plan for public transport to eventually become the preferred mode of transport in the future. The government of Singapore ideally desires environmental towns, using public transport to reduce pollution caused by heavy road traffic. Sengkang is part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's focus for realising this urban planning model. As Sengkang is relatively distant from the city centre at the Central Area, an efficient, high-volume and high-speed public transport system is also preferred to using road networks.

Public transport

North East Line

Sengkang New Town is linked to the Central Area and the SMRT lines (to the North-South Line at Dhoby Ghaut Station, and the East-West Line at Outram Park Station) through the North East Line (NEL) at Sengkang Station (NE16) located at Sengkang Town Centre. The NEL system is a fully automated heavy rail mass rapid transit system, and started operations on 20 June 2003. It is currently operated by SBS Transit.

Buangkok NEL Station (NE15), the other station along NEL in Sengkang New Town, serves the housing developments in Buangkok, at Compassvale, and the northern part of Hougang New Town. The station is operational from 15 January 2006.

Sengkang LRT Line

Sengkang Light Rail Transit

The intra-town Sengkang Light Rail Transit (LRT) system is a 10.7 km light rail line that serves to link residents to the town centre. It is a fully automated system, and its rolling stock is supplied by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The system is currently operated by SBS Transit. The Sengkang LRT line forms 2 loops, East Loop and West Loop, that skirt the perimeter of the new town.

Station names are:

  • East Loop
    • STC - Sengkang (Interchange station)
    • SE1 - Compassvale
    • SE2 - Rumbia
    • SE3 - Bakau
    • SE4 - Kangkar
    • SE5 - Ranggung
  • West Loop
    • STC - Sengkang (Interchange station)
    • SW1 - Cheng Lim (not in operation)
    • SW2 - Farmway (not in operation)
    • SW3 - Kupang (not in operation)
    • SW4 - Thanggam
    • SW5 - Fernvale
    • SW6 - Layar
    • SW7 - Tongkang
    • SW8 - Renjong

Sengkang Bus Interchange

Sengkang Bus Interchange

The Sengkang Bus Interchange is located at the ground level of the condominium Compass Heights, next to Compass Point Shopping Centre. There are numerous trunk services departing from Sengkang Bus Interchange, terminating at the following destinations:

A feeder service is also available, linking residents to the town centre.

Other Bus Information

Sengkang Light Rail Transit viaduct

There are also 9 other bus trunk services passing through Sengkang New Town:

Bus services which have been removed or re-routed due to the operation of the North-East Line:

An integrated system

The Sengkang NEL Station, Sengkang LRT Station and Sengkang Bus Interchange are fully integrated within a single building complex to allow seamless travel for the residents of Sengkang New Town across the different available modes of public transport.

Road network

Sengkang East Way

The major roads that currently link Sengkang New Town to Punggol New Town and the Tampines Expressway to the North, and Hougang New Town to the south are:

  • Punggol Road
  • Sengkang East Road
  • Sengkang East Drive (bypasses TPE to Punggol)
  • Jalan Kayu

The arterial roads that run in the east-west direction within Sengkang New Town are:

  • Sengkang East Avenue and Sengkang West Avenue
  • Compassvale Drive and Anchorvale Drive
  • Sengkang East Way
  • Compassvale Bow
  • Buangkok Drive

Educational institutions

There are currently six primary schools and six secondary schools in Sengkang New Town.

Nan Chiau Primary School

Places of worship

Sengkang Methodist Church

Sengkang town centre

Sengkang Town Centre. The building complexes are, from left to right, Sengkang Community Hub, Compass Point Shopping Centre, Sengkang NEL, LRT and Bus Interchange, and Compass Heights Condominium.

There are currently four major building complexes within the Sengkang Town Centre.

  • Compass Heights, a private residential condominium development.
  • Sengkang Interchange, comprising the bus interchange, and the NEL and LRT stations.
Compass Point Shopping Centre
Sengkang Community Hub

Other amenities

  • Fire stations
    • Sengkang Fire Station. Singapore's newest and biggest fire station opened on 19 May 2001. Aside from being the largest, covering 7,000 square metres, the $14-million state-of-the-art facility boasts a few other firsts for the Singapore Civil Defence Force. It is home to the first Immediate Response Centre - which brings together a medical company and a rescue battalion under one roof, with all their specialised equipment. The station in Buangkok Drive is one of 14 here. It has the capacity for 700 fire-fighters and rescue personnel. Sengkang Fire Station is equipped with HAZMAT capability to handle incidents involving hazardous materials. It is also the first station to employ a water conservation system where water used during drills are diverted to a pump well for recycling purposes.
Wall tile mural at Compass Point Shopping Centre.
Floor tile mural at Compass Point Shopping Centre.
  • Shopping amenities
    • Compass Point Shopping Centre (Compassvale)
    • Rivervale Mall (Rivervale). Rivervale Mall is the first private mixed development in Sengkang New Town, with about 85,000 square feet (7,900 m²) of retail space. The development, with a modern architectural design, is anchored by the NTUC Group. All retail units available enjoy maximum retail exposure and face the atrium.
    • Rivervale Plaza (Rivervale). Rivervale Plaza is the first shopping complex which was opened in Sengkang New Town. This shopping centre has about 46 shops and houses the Sengkang HDB Branch Office. The centre has a wet market, supermarket, 2 foodcourts, 2 fastfood outlets, a music school and other shops that cater to the residents' daily shopping needs.

See also

Template:Singaporehdb

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sengkang_New_Town&oldid=42633070"