Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Work on Sheltered Linkways for Residential Estates with Larger Elderly Population

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     under what circumstances will sheltered linkways be approved for construction if they are not close to major transport nodes and key amenities; and 

b.     whether residential estates that consist largely of elderly profiles be favourably considered for sheltered linkways to be constructed.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     Covered linkways are built by various parties including the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Town Councils (TCs) and the Land transport Authority (LTA). LTA’s priority is to benefit as many commuters as possible, including seniors. Hence, covered linkways are constructed near high trip-generating clusters so that commuters are connected between major transport nodes and key amenities such as schools, libraries, community clubs, healthcare and eldercare institutions. Over the years, the network of covered linkways built by LTA has expanded significantly to over 200km today.

2.     Moving forward, LTA will continue to focus on covered connectivity near high trip-generating clusters to serve commuters’ needs at public residential estates. Covered linkways requests sent to LTA which are not close to major transport nodes and key amenities are considered in consultation with other agencies on a case-by-case basis. Factors considered include pedestrian traffic, the needs of vulnerable pedestrians, and the possibility of connecting to the covered linkway network provided by HDB, Town Councils and private organisations including MCSTs to provide commuters with greater overall sheltered connectivity.