Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min to Parliamentary Question on Traffic Impact Assessment

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     how LTA specifies the methodology of traffic impact assessments, especially for new housing developments in mature estates;

b.     whether the planning assumptions for traffic impact assessments assume a “car-lite” future; and 

c.     whether a range of vehicle population scenarios is considered when making such assessments.

Reply by Senior Minister of State for Transport Dr Lam Pin Min:

1.     LTA requires developers to conduct transport impact assessments (TIAs) to identify the impact of new developments and redevelopments on the surrounding road network and recommend mitigating measures.  This applies to both new and mature estates. 

2.     LTA publishes guidelines for how developers should conduct the TIA. First, developers should establish the baseline traffic demand before the development is built by carrying out a traffic survey. Developers also have to estimate the future growth in traffic volume due to external factors such as the vehicle growth rate and other new developments in the area. 

3.     Second, developers should assess the additional traffic that will be generated by the planned development. This is typically done via surveying a comparable development, and adjusting for a lower vehicle mode share if there are future improvements in public transport and active mobility access to the development when it is ready.

4.     LTA does not require the TIA to consider a range of vehicle population scenarios, nor for a specific car-lite scenario. However, by factoring in the vehicle growth rate, which is currently zero for non-commercial vehicles, and enhancements to public transport and active mobility infrastructure in the vicinity, the developments will account for a reduction in the usage of private cars over time.