Danger Zone at Clementi 1

A potential accident zone recently sprang up at Clementi Central.

A piece of land at the central is currently being turned into a temporary bus intercharge. Once it is ready, the original interchange will be moved over and renovation work will commence on it.

The original interchange and the MRT station are separated from the new interchange by a road (Road A) with two-way lanes.

A long pavement leads out from the original interchange and the MRT station to this road.

When people reach the end of the pavement, most jaywalk and cross Road A to the other side where there are HDB flats and schools.

There is a traffic light junction about 200 m away, but most people jaywalk because of the convenience.


My illustration of the potential danger zone at Clementi Central.

Before the temporary interchange was set up, people used to jaywalk as well, but they step up onto the road divider in the centre of the two lane road, look left and look right before they cross.

Not that this offers much protection, but the divider does make pedestrians appear "taller" and more prominent, especially so on dark nights and peak hours. As the divider acts as a barrier to vehicles’ wheels, it also makes pedestrians feel a little more secure.

The danger of jaywalking at this spot has escalated recently because the road divider has been demolished and removed, due to some roadworks.

This meant that when people jaywalk, they would have to stand in the middle of Road A, completely without defence. A potential accident zone!

Imagine being sandwiched in the middle of a busy road, with buses, cars and motorcycles zooming literally from your left and right, and having to watch out for vehicles from the main road and the side road at the same time!

I have seen pedestrians being knocked down at the junction before the road divider was removed. Thank goodness they merely suffered scratches. I do not want to visualize the extent of injuries that could be sustained without the divider.

When I was walking home today, I saw two schoolgirls jaywalking at the same spot and I was quite worried as they seemed pretty unsure. The fact that I could observe them so well showed that I, like many others, was guilty of jaywalking as well.

When we safely crossed to the other side, I turned and saw a mother holding her young daughter’s hand, an old lady and two working adults pausing in the middle of the road before they ran across.

Sweat.

Many people have tried using the traffic light junction before, but it is so much less convenient, and most gave up after just a few days. Blame it on the society and ourselves for demanding so much on efficiency and speed.

Many wrongs do not make one right. Jaywalking is wrong in the first place, and when many people do it, it is still a wrong thing.

However, when so many people are doing so out of convenience, it is a problem the relevant authorities have to face and more importantly, do something about it.

No one wants to see a tragedy take place before safety measures are stepped up.