Oral Reply by Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan to Parliamentary Question on Traffic Speed Regulating Measures

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     what are the criteria to assess the need for traffic speed regulating measures in a housing estate; and

b.     how often are these measures reviewed to assess their adequacy after the measures are installed.

Reply by Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan:

1.     The main objective of regulating traffic speed is to enhance safety of road users. For roads serving residential estates, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) would set lower speed limits. LTA would then implement traffic speed regulating measures to remind motorists to keep to the speed limits. Such measures include warning signs or markings, speed regulating strips, and road humps.  

2.     To further enhance the safety of vulnerable roads users such as school children and elderly pedestrians, LTA would also implement special schemes. All primary and secondary schools have School Zones along their frontage. School Zone features include speed regulating strips and red-textured road surfaces to alert drivers to slow down. Silver Zones are implemented in residential areas with a large elderly population and a relatively higher accident rate involving the elderly. Silver Zone features include pinch-points to narrow, and chicanes to curve the road, to get motorists to slow down. 

3.     In addition, accident statistics are monitored on an on-going basis to assess the adequacy of the speed regulating measures. LTA also conducts a review whenever there are substantial changes to the built environment around the road.

4.     Such infrastructural speed regulating measures are complemented by the Traffic Police’s speed enforcement cameras and regular enforcement operations.