Saturday, September 26, 2009

Bishan New Town

Bishan

Bishan is a neighbourhood of the city-state of Singapore situated in the Central Region, measuring approximately three by three kilometres. Primarily a housing estate, Bishan houses the upper-middle classes. Flats here are relatively more expensive compared to other estates due to its central location.


Amenities :

Junction 8 shopping center, Bishan North Shopping Mall and Bishan Park.
Bishan MRT station and Bishan bus interchange.

Bedok New Town

Bedok


Bedok is a neighbourhood in the eastern part of Singapore. Bedok New Town is the fifth Housing and Development Board (HDB) new town; its development started in April 1973 and continued over some 15 years.



Amenities:
Bedok Community Library, Bedok Adventure park and Bedok Singhealth.
Bedok MRT station and Bedok bus interchange.

Ang Mo Kio New Town

Ang Mo Kio

Total area : 6.38 km²

Residential area : 2.83 km²
Dwelling units : 47,806
Projected ultimate : 58,000
Population : 162,200


Ang Mo Kio is a heartland new town located in north central Singapore, and is generally within the North-East Region. It has a town centre which is Ang Mo Kio Neighbourhood 7 and six neighbourhoods. Although containing many of the common features of the island nation's neighbourhoods, e.g. hawker centres, wet markets and HDB housing blocks, residents see the town as retaining a distinctive identity.


Ang Mo Kio New Town is the seventh
New Town to be built in Singapore. The early stage of construction took place in 1973 by the Housing and Development Board under the Ministry of National Development. After over thirty years of existence, it is considered one of the matured housing estates with established markets, schools, institutions, community, residential, administrative centers, and even a community hospital and other important amenities for the housing residents.

Origin of the name

The locality's name is believed by some to derive from the Hokkien phrase Ang Mo Kio (红毛桥), meaning "Westerner Bridge". The term ang mo (literally "red hair") is a somewhat derogatory Hokkien reference to the people with fair hair who settled from the West and, because such a name might be considered unflattering, it is now written as 宏茂桥 which is pronounced in an almost identical way but means "Bridge of Expansiveness and Prosperity". Some local people have incorrectly assumed that the new version of the name refers to the bridges at the seventh milestone of Thomson Road (found at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Thomson Road). These two old bridges were known as Or-kio ("black bridges") in the local spoken dialects. Research suggests that neither of these bridges were officially named, but they spanned the canal and the old Kallang River forming a link to the Peirce Reservoir.

The actual source of the name comes from the old survey maps which label the land as "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" (Mukim meaning "area" or "district" in Malay). The word "Ang Mo" 红毛 may in fact not refer to Westerners. Rather, it is derived from two separate combined phrases in Hokkien. Ang Mo Dan means "rambutan" 红毛丹, a local fruit, red and covered in hair, found plentifully around the areas of old kampongs. Likely the second suffix "kio" 桥 ("bridge" or "bridges" in Hokkien) was added to the prefix "Ang Mo" 红毛 as an additional description to indicate a more precise location that residents would recognize i.e.红毛桥. There were many concrete bridges built by the old kampong dwellers. It first appears on the early maps drawn by surveyors who took those two phrases and combined them to form "Mukim of Ang Mo Kio" ("District of Ang Mo Kio"). The actual location of Ang Mo Kio New Town has been also known by the former name Kou-teu kio, Hokkien for "Ninth Bridge".

Folklore about the name Ang Mo Kio

There is a history page to the name Ang Mo Kio. Ang Mo Kio means “Red Hair Bridge” in the local dialect. It actually refers to a disused bridge that links the western part of the current Ang Mo Kio estate to the Thomson Estate.

The Red Hair referred by the locals was a British Lady called Lady Jennifer Windsor. Lady Windsor was the wife of Lord Windsor, a wealthy merchant who had a huge estate in the Upper Thomson Area in the 1920s till after World War II.

It was a tragic incident that linked Lady Windsor to an unnamed crossing that bridged a stream running off the Pierce Reservoir. The incident happened in 1923 when Lady Windsor lost 3 of her children; Harry, Paul and Angela. The 3 children were supposed to have visited a family friend staying in the Upper Thomson area, and were lost in the woods. It was later found that the 2 boys were playing by the wooden crossing when a sudden gush swept them away. Their bodies were found about 2 miles from the bridge. However, the body of Angela was never found.

Since that eventful day, locals started hearing cries of a little girl and that prompted Lady Windsor to stay by the bridge for the rest of her life. She told her close friends that she had heard her daughter voices by the bridge and she wanted to accompany her soul. Lady Windsor would spend the whole day by the bridge, reading or knitting. People soon got used to her perpetual presence by the bridge that they soon referred to the bridge as the “Red Hair Bridge”; which in its right sense should have been called “Lady Windsor Bridge”.

Lady Windsor died in 1963 and it was only thereafter that locals no longer hear the voices of the little girl. Today, one could still see the disused bridge near the intersection of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Upper Thomson Road.

Another logical explanation would be: Ang Mo Kio was named in reference to Mr A. E. Thomson. Thomson was a civil engineer from the British Royal Army. He was responsible for building a bridge during the colonial days of Singapore, to facilitate logistic transportation to the nearby British military bases at Seletar. After the bridge was completed, the locals often referred to it as Ang Mo Kio or "Caucasian Bridge". Nowadays, "Ang Mo" is a popular term to refer to Caucasian in Singapore.

The name "Thomson" was also used extensively in the naming of several roads in and around Ang Mo Kio. This above version of explanation is now currently being listed at the Heritage Corridor in Deyi Secondary School located in Ang Mo Kio. The explanation is also more widely accepted by the local historians. The bridge, however, has no longer existed. It was, according to local historians, located at the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8. Little of the bridge built by Thomson remain.

Schools in Ang Mo Kio

Kindergartens
Al-Muttaqin Mosque Kindergarten


Primary Schools
Anderson Primary School
Ang Mo Kio Primary School
Da Qiao Primary School
Jing Shan Primary School
Mayflower Primary School
Teck Ghee Primary School
Townsville Primary School


Secondary Schools
Anderson Secondary School
Ang Mo Kio Secondary School
CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School
Chong Boon Secondary School
Deyi Secondary School
Mayflower Secondary School
Presbyterian Hign School
Yio Chu Kang Secondary School
Peirce Secondary School


Junior Colleges
Anderson Junior College

Tertiaries
ITE College West (Ang Mo Kio Campus) Nanyang Polytechnic


Special Schools
Chaoyang School (APSN) Pathlight School



Ang Mo Kio MRT station and Ang Mo Kio bus interchange.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Bus Services

Interchange
Bus Services

Ang Mo Kio

22, 24, 25, 73, 86, 130, 133, 135, 136, 138, 166, 261, 262, 269

Bedok

7, 9, 14, 17, 18, 25, 26, 30, 30e, 32, 33, 35, 38, 40, 60, 66, 69, 87, 168, 196, 197, 222, 225W/G, 228, 229, 401

Boon Lay

30, 79, 154, 157, 174, 174e, 179, 181, 182, 192, 193, 194, 198, 199, 240, 242, 243W/G, 246, 249, 251, 252, 254, 255, 257, 405

Bishan

52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 410W/G

Bukit Merah

5, 16, 57, 123, 131, 132, 139, 153, 198, 272, 273, 275

Clementi

7, 14, 96, 99, 147, 156, 165, 166, 175, 196, 282, 284, 285

Eunos

60, 63, 93, 94, 154

Harbour Front

65, 80, 93, 408, 409

Hougang Central

27, 51, 74, 74e, 89, 89e, 107, 112, 113, 132, 147, 151, 151e, 153, 161, 165, 325

Jurong East

51, 52, 66, 78, 79, 97, 97e, 98, 105, 143, 160, 183, 197, 333, 334, 335, 506

Pasir Ris

3, 5, 6, 12, 15, 17, 21, 58, 88, 354, 358, 359, 403, 518

Punggol

3, 34, 43, 62, 83, 85, 136

Sengkang

80, 83, 86, 87, 119, 156, 159, 163, 372

Serangoon

81, 82, 100, 101, 103, 103w, 105, 109, 158, 315, 317

Tampines

3, 8, 10, 18, 19, 22, 23, 28, 29, 31, 37, 38, 39, 65, 68, 69, 72, 81, 291, 292, 293

Toa Payoh

8, 26, 28, 31, 73, 88, 90, 139, 142, 143, 145, 155, 157, 159, 163, 231W/G, 232, 235, 238

Woodlands

161, 168

Yishun

39, 85

Bus Terminals
Bus Services

Ang Mo Kio Buspark

265, 268

Ban San

170

Buona Vista

32, 48, 74, 74e, 91, 145, 185, 191, 200

Changi Airport

27, 34, 36, 43, 53

Changi Village

2, 29, 59, 109

Geylang

11, 175

Ghim Moh

92, 100, 111

Kembangan

42

Kent Ridge

10, 33, 95, 151, 151e

Larkin

170

Marina Centre

56, 195

New Bridge Rd

2, 12, 54, 174, 174e

Shenton Way

70, 107, 130, 162, 186, 400

Sims Place

64

St. Michael

21, 124, 125, 131, 186

Tuas

192, 193

Yio Chu Kang

13, 70, 72, 76, 162

Upp East Coast Rd

13, 43, 45, 48, 506

Marina South Pier

402

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Tampines New Town

Tampines

Tampines ( pronounced Tam-Pee-nees ) ( or Tampines New Town ) is the largest residential area in the city-state of Singapore and is located in the East Region of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s a large forest of Tampines trees were located at the present site. The nearby areas of Teban, Tampines, Teck Hock village, Beremban, Sungei Blukar were collectively known as "TAMPINES".

Name of "TAMPINES" was derived from the Malay name of the "Riau ironwood" tree which grew abundantly in Tampines. The Tampines tree is one of the most valuable timber trees in Peninsula Malaysia, known for its strength, suppleness and durability.

Like other new towns and neighbourhoods in Singapore, it is a densely populated district and is home to a rather diverse group of different races. It tends to be even more dense than other housing districts. Tampines New Town is a regional centre that lies to the east of Singapore's city centre.

Like much of Singapore, Tampines was once covered by forest, plantations and villages. Ironwood trees, or tempinis, grew abundantly here and gave the area its name. Tampines was a sand quarrying area, an activity which left significant tracts of land pitted and barren.

The transformation of Tampines into the first regional town centre in Singapore began in the 1970s. Since then, Tampines New Town has blossomed into the institutional, social, recreational and commercial hub of the eastern part of Singapore. Many government and commercial agencies have established offices in the town. It now houses a population of 200,000 people in 52,000 Housing and Development flats on 424 hectares of land. It is a bustling new town with lots of activities.

New construction methods expedited the development of the town's infrastructure. Using prefabricated parts, a block of high-rise flats could be built in a month. More attractive designs, colours and finishings were also incorporated into Tampines, compared to earlier public housing which consisted of uniform slabs of concrete laid out row after row with more thought given to function than form. The Housing and Development Board ( HDB ) managed the construction of the town until 1991, when it handed the reins over to the Tampines Town Council. The Town Council is run by grassroot leaders and the residents themselves.


The Building and Social Housing Foundation ( BSHF ) of the United Nations awarded the World Habitat Award to Tampines, which was selected as a representative of Singapore's new towns, on 5 October 1992. The award was given in recognition of an outstanding contribution towards human settlement and development.

Amenities

Tampines New Town is now home to over 200,000 people living in 52,000 HDB flats spread out over 4.24 square kilometres. It is divided into 5 districts :

1.) Tampines North
2.) Tampines East
3.) Tampines West
4.) Tampines Central
5.) Tampines Changkat


All the districts have a Community Centre located within them :

1.) Tampines North Community Club
2.) Tampines East Community Club
3.) Tampines West Community Club
4.) Tampines Central Community Club

5.) Tampines Changkat Community Club

Tampines Regional Centre

The urban planning policy of Singapore is to create partially self-sufficient towns, in terms of commercial needs, in order to relieve strain on traffic drawn into the city centre. Thus, an extensive array of facilities are provided primarily for residents in the new towns. Tampines is one of Singapore's three regional centres ( along with Woodlands and Jurong East ), under the plan of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. As a result, the Tampine Regional Centre not only serve the Tampines residents but also the entire East Region.

Commercial services

Retail shopping in the Tampines Regional Centre is facilitated by two main shopping malls : Tampines Mall and Century Square, which underwent a facelift in 2005. Commercial tenants of the shopping centres include restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, cinemas, bookstores and jewelry shops. A new shopping mall next to the MRT station named Tampines One is currently under construction.

On November 30, 2006, IKEA Tampines opened its second outlet in Singapore among much fanfare at Tampines, together with adjacent Courts Megastore and Giant.

Community services

The Tampines Regional Library is located near the Tampines town centre, and regularly organises events for children and adults to promote reading and learning.

Transportation

An efficient network of expressways, the Pan-Island Expressway and Tampines Expressway, and arterial roads allows easy movement within the town and link it to other parts of the island. Public transportation is well served by the Mass Rapid Transit at Tampines MRT Station ( EW2 ) and a Tampines Bus Interchange.

Intra-town feeder/townlink bus services bring residents from the Town Centre ( where the MRT station and bus interchange is located ) to their doorsteps.

Education

The 14 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and 4 different tertiary institutions provide diversified education options for Tampines residents, as well as those living in the region.

Primary schools

- Changkat Primary School
- Chongzheng Primary School
- East Spring Primary School
- East View Primary School
- Gongshang Primary School
- Griffiths Primary School
- Junyuan Primary School
- Poi Ching School
- Qiaonan Primary School
- Saint Hilda's Primary School

- Tampines North Primary School
- Tampines Primary School
( Undergoing PRIME, which is expected to be completed in December 2009 ).
- Yumin Primary School


Secondary schools

- Changkat Changi Secondary School
- Dunman Secondary School
- East Spring Secondary School
- East View Secondary School
- Junyuan Secondary School
- Ngee Ann Secondary School ( Parts of it are still undergoing PRIME )
- Pasir Ris Secondary School
- Springfield Secondary School
- St. Hilda's Secondary School
- Tampines Secondary School ( Undergoing PRIME )


Tertiary institutions

- Tampines Junior College
- ITE College Central ( Tampines Campus )
- Temasek Polytechnic

- Singapore Institute Of Commerce ( SIC Tampines Campus )

Sports

- Tampines Stadium ,which is the home to Tampines Rovers FC.
- Tampines Swimming Pool Complex
- Tampines Sports Hall
- Tampines Mountain Biking Trail
- Safra ( Tampines )
- Safra Tampines Clubhouse


Places of Worship

- An-Le Temple
- Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple
- Hean Thuan Chong Toh Tong Temple
- Hiang Tong Keng Temple
- Hiap Tien Keng Leng Poh Tian Temple
- Kew Sian King Temple
- Kwang Hua Buddhist Monastery Temple
- Lorong Tua Peck Kong Temple
- Sree Jadha Muneswara Temple
- Tampines Chinese Temple
- Tian Kong Temple

- Masjid Darul Ghufran

Others

- All Saints Home
- Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for the Elderly
- Pasir Ris South Student Care Centre

- Tampines Leisure Park
- Tampines North Park Tampines Park