Joo Chiat to Trial Singapore's Second Scramble Crossing From Nov 16

From Nov 16, pedestrians at the junction of Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road, in front of the i12 Katong shopping mall, will be able to cross in every direction at once, diagonally included, while all vehicles wait. The three-month trial was confirmed to CNA on Wednesday (Nov 11) by Goh Pei Ming, the Member of Parliament for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, who is also senior minister of state for home affairs and for social and family development.

A scramble crossing halts vehicle movement from every direction for a short period so people can cross from all sides. Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo is the best-known example. In Singapore they are rare. The only permanent one sits at Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street, near the Lau Pa Sat hawker centre. The Joo Chiat pilot will be the first new scramble trial here since December 2017, when one ran for a month at Cairnhill Road and Orchard Road. An earlier trial, at Bideford Road and Orchard Road in December 2006, lasted six months. Neither was made permanent.

Mr Goh said the junction is busy because the area is popular, and that he has seen turning vehicles nearly hit pedestrians there. He said the idea came from one of his grassroots leaders. After thinking it over, he felt it was worth trying, and grassroots leaders, merchant representatives, LTA officers and he spent months fine-tuning the plans. Volunteers went door to door and handed out flyers to tell residents about the change.

The Land Transport Authority set out the details in an Oct 30 letter to residents and business owners, seen by CNA. A dedicated pedestrian phase will let people cross in all directions while traffic is stopped. Advance signs will be put up, and wardens will be deployed on the first day to guide motorists and pedestrians. The letter, signed by Ridwan Kahar, manager of community partnership for the South East zone at the LTA's Quality Service Manager Office, also announced a permanent change: the right turn from East Coast Road into Joo Chiat Road will be restricted. Residents of surrounding estates can still reach their neighbourhood by other routes, and the LTA said the restriction is meant to ease traffic flow at the junction.

The LTA was candid about the cost. It said the new arrangement should improve pedestrian convenience and safety but may lengthen waiting times for both motorists and pedestrians. It will monitor traffic and pedestrian conditions throughout the trial and weigh those trade-offs before deciding anything further. Motorists are urged to plan routes ahead, and pedestrians to use designated crossings and obey signals.

Transport economist Walter Theseira, an associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said scramble crossings are meant to ease both foot and vehicle flow, letting pedestrians cross diagonally in one phase without delaying cars that are completing turns. They may improve the pedestrian experience in an area that draws foot traffic, which helps businesses. He added that success depends on factors such as how pedestrianised the area already is, whether shops cater to walkers rather than drivers, and whether walkways are good. Joo Chiat does well on some of these, he said, though one could argue for reducing or removing vehicle traffic along Joo Chiat Road itself, through car-free initiatives or fewer parking lots.

That idea has had a recent airing. A stretch of Joo Chiat Road went car-free for six hours on Oct 3 for World Car-Free Day and drew more than 5,000 people.

Mr Goh said his team will assess the findings to decide whether the crossing stays. If it works, he said, it could become another small distinctive feature of Katong-Joo Chiat. The 2006 and 2017 precedents were both dropped, so the three months of data will decide this one.