Singapore example

Last week I found myself in Kuala Lumpur and the rest of Selangor Province in Malaysia for the Malaysian MotoGP. It was unfortunate that Marco Simoncelli of Ducatti tragically passed away doing what he loved most: going flat out on two wheels. May his soul rest in peace as he joined our Creator and is probably now going flat-out somewhere in the great race track with the best bikes and even better company. Kuala Lumpur took the best approach to keep their city vibrant, progressive, clean and orderly: by building new cities outside of the old city center to help decongest and decentralize government and society.

But unfortunately, we know our government is slow, really slow such that a grand master plan I proposed last week about the local government making a similar move to help decongest the Metro by persuading and romancing the private sector to build outside of Metro Manila, and provide some form of benefit to buyers, locators and investors to move there, would probably take 10 generations to come to agree to any plan, and perhaps another 10 generations for the government to implement such a plan. If it ever did push through, what with our red tape and bureaucracy.

I’m filing this week’s column while in Singapore for the annual Subaru Impreza Challenge. And with the competition being held at the very heart of vibrant Orchard Road, Singapore’s top fashion, retail, F&B, entertainment and business district, I have had a lot of ideas come to mind.

First is cleanliness. By my estimate, there is a trash can every 20 meters or so along Orchard Road at the very least. Having an abundance of trash cans can cut down littering by over 50 percent, according to a recently concluded study by the Singaporean government, far more effective by banners and streamers, or even by having authorities physically present to enforce non-littering laws. I feel this boils down to convenience. Make it convenient to not littering, and people won’t have any reason to.

Second is jaywalking. While there are jaywalkers in Singapore, even on fashionable Orchard Road, there is very little. In fact, you only realize that there are jaywalkers because the very few create such a huge ruckus crossing the road and you notice them. In the past, government erected various dividers and barriers to prevent jaywalkers from crossing the road. But these barriers and dividers were made of steel, iron or any other form of metal. After a few weeks, the residents in that area who regularly jaywalk (and put their lives at risk) would have vandalized, damaged, destroyed or even steal these barriers and dividers. I say government should create an all-cement structure that’s 1.5-1.75 meters high with a wide base at the bottom then curved back out at the top to prevent people from getting up and climbing over them to jaywalk. Again it’s convenience: if it’s hard for people to climb up and over these barriers, they won’t bother jaywalking and probably just go to a proper pedestrian crossing zone/overpass.

Third is to have proper sidewalks. Orchard Road has super-wide sidewalks, wider than the usual provincial highways in our country. If the government wanted to create a truly livable city, it needs to create a proper traveling path for pedestrians. Unfortunately, pedestrians, cars and everything else in between tend to compete for space on our narrow roads.

There is a connection with cleanliness, jaywalking and the sidewalk. If the sidewalks were wide and kept clean, people would not bother to walk on the road but keep to the sidewalks. It would be a pleasant place to walk. Look at Fort Bonifacio Global City: wide sidewalks, very clean and well maintained. No wonder so many people jog there every day. I love walking around parts of Ortigas Center and Salcedo and Legazpi Villages, and also walking in places thriving with life outside of the Metro: Boracay Island, the few parts of Cebu City I’ve been to and Baguio. Walking is the most basic form of mobility and freedom and much as I love cars, being able to move about holding nothing is liberating. Plus it’s good for my overfed tush as well. Imagine walking about in a city free of debris, garbage and, worst of all, nasty, smelly stuff (refuse, garbage and everything else that assaults our noses and our sensibilities); wouldn’t that be nice? The heat is actually bearable. Here in Singapore, where temperatures can soar to the 40s regularly, it’s bearable because walking feels good, it’s clean and, yes, refreshing to be able to rely solely on your own two feet for transportation.

I do think that a toll system on major thoroughfares would not work, effective as it will be in decongesting traffic. That would mark another revolution.