Community event in Toa Payoh promotes safety for cyclists, pedestrians
Safe riding, especially in old housing clusters with many elderly folk, is more important now than ever with the influx of dockless bike-sharing schemes.
"A lot of their users are young, who always cycle on the road without knowing safety rules," said Toa Payoh Active Mobility Patrol leader Razali Puasa Muhammad, who has headed the volunteer group since April 2016.
In the past year, bike operators like ofo, Mobike, and oBike have flooded Singapore with their two-wheelers, which have mushroomed to about 100,000.
To promote safe riding, a Road Safety Awareness Day event was held at Toa Payoh East Community Club yesterday. Through hands-on sessions and information booths, it aims to educate cyclists and pedestrians on how to stay safe while using shared paths.
The event kicked off with an 8km heritage cycle around the Toa Payoh estate, with stops made at the dragon playground on Lorong 6 and the century-old Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery.
Participants were given road safety pointers while cycling alongside seasoned bikers from an enthusiast group.
"When we cycled, there were elderly people on the paths, and we had to look out for them crossing the roads… It puts things into context when we explain to them about road safety issues (afterwards)," said MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Saktiandi Supaat.
BOOTHS
Information booths were also set up by agencies like the Singapore Police Force and Land Transport Authority (LTA).
They included a Road Master Test Kit booth by the Traffic Police, which had a series of three tests to assess sight, hearing, and reflexes; and a Safe Riding Programme booth by LTA that put cyclists through a circuit course like that of a driving centre.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
