More roads to become car-free on weekends from next year
SINGAPORE: Starting on Jan 1, a section of Baghdad Street, between Arab Street and the service road behind Unit 21 Bussorah Street, will be closed to traffic on Friday nights from 6pm to midnight and weekends from noon to midnight.
This follows the successful weekend closures of other roads, the latest being Liang Seah Street. The three-month trial of weekend road closure at Liang Seah Street started in early December and will last till the end of next February.
According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, the first two weekends of road closure have been well-received by the public. With the closure, pedestrians can dine outside and even walk along the road. Some tenants say the road closure has also worked to their advantage.
"With the closure, the tenants can come together and organise activities, and with Christmas and Lunar New Year coming up, I think we can do more and attract people from other parts of Singapore to come and join us over here," said Mr Khoo Siow Kiat, director of Chinese restaurant Zhong Guo Feng. "We're quite fortunate that we have our unit at the front of this whole street, so I think we saw about 15 to 20 per cent increase in our sales over the weekend."
Currently the closures are at:
Circular Road - 6pm to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Club Street - 7pm to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Liang Seah Street - 7pm to midnight on Fridays to Sundays
Bussorah Street, Bali Lane, Haji Lane - 6pm to midnight on Fridays and noon to midnight on Saturdays and Sundays.
- CNA/ek