4.3 bln MCE was a mess on 1st working day for motorists

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#1
sometimes wondering, why need the mce? it is not as if sg is made up of 2 separate islands.

Traffic on the newly-opened Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) might have been fairly smooth on Sunday when it opened to the public, but it was a different story on Monday.

Travel was slow on several segments of the MCE and surrounding roads. Some motorists said they were stuck on the $4.3 billion expressway for nearly an hour, while some commuters were fuming over having to pay higher than usual taxi fares because they were stuck in jams linked to the expressway.

Common reasons cited for the slow traffic included unfamiliarity with how the MCE connects with other roads and expressways, as well as road signs that were not clear enough.

Some motorists noted that even though there were traffic wardens deployed to help direct people, this only slowed traffic more as motorists stopped to ask for directions.

Adrian Lim | MyPaper | Tuesday, Dec 31, 2013 SINGAPORE - A drive that normally takes 20 minutes turned into a three-hour crawl. A taxi ride that usually costs $16 ended up with a painful $60 payout. With bottlenecks clogging the Marina Coastal Expressway's (MCE's) entrances and exits and a handful of accidents slowing traffic further along the way, MCE's second day of operation saw many motorists fuming. Many were late for work. The $4.3-billion MCE links the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) in the west, to the East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) in the east and is Singapore's costliest expressway to date, with five lanes in both directions. Mr Ivan Toh, 38, said he takes around 20 minutes to drive from Commonwealth to his wife's office at Suntec City, but yesterday morning's trip took close to three hours. Traffic ground to a crawl after he exited the MCE to get onto Central Boulevard, he said. "It was a chokepoint, because you also have vehicles coming from the east funnelling into that exit. We spent more than two hours on a stretch of around 3km," added the engineer. Civil servant Grace Chiang, 29, drove two hours to reach Sentosa from Marine Parade, a journey which she said typically takes 20 minutes. Another said that she had to pay a taxi fare of $60 for a jouney that usually costs $16, because she was caught in traffic. To improve traffic circulation in the road network adjoining the MCE, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday that a short stretch of Central Boulevard will be immediately converted from two lanes to four lanes.
- See more at: http://ride.asiaone.com/news/general/sto...mnPfc.dpuf

More temporary signs at key approaches will be put up to alert motorists to the road-network changes and traffic wardens will continue to be deployed, LTA added. Other drivers whom MyPaper spoke to complained about the severe tailback caused by a bottleneck at the Fort Road exit. Lawyer Mark Quek, 30, said: "There were just two lanes... That's not enough release of the traffic (from the expressway)." Transport expert Lee Der Horng from the National University of Singapore said the Rochor Road exit on the ECP is a popular one, but as motorists are unable to access that route now, they will likely use the Fort Road exit instead. Dr Lee said two lanes at that exit may be "insufficient" to meet the traffic demand, but added that travel patterns over time may show otherwise. Noting that there could have been more publicity to educate drivers about the road changes, he pointed out that there is a "sharp left turn" that needs to be carefully negotiated for those travelling from the ECP onto the MCE. Ms Chiang is not too optimistic about the traffic situation on the MCE in the week ahead. She said: "Schools will re-open soon and roads will be more congested. Hopefully, it's a teething problem and the situation will improve when people are more familiar." If there was a silver lining to yesterday's congestion, Mr Toh said he saved on Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges because by the time he reached one of the gantries, it was after the peak hour. However, senior manager Tan Wee Shiong, 40, ended up paying $9.50 in ERP charges yesterday for his trip from Bedok to Lower Delta Road, due to the confusion. adrianl@sph.com.sg
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#2
Thursday, Jan 02, 2014



Linette Heng



The New Paper




The Marina Coastal Expressway (MCE) was also the Most Congested Expressway on Monday.

Costing $4.3 billion and four years in the making, the 5km, 10-lane underground road joins the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE), East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE).

But just a day after its opening, it saw massive jams and frustrated commuters during the morning rush hour.

Many complained that they were stuck in congestion for more than an hour.

A photo of a taxi receipt that amounted to $74.20 was also circulated widely on social media.

One of the worst-hit areas was the Central Business District (CBD) at Marina South.

Motorists we spoke to said that bottlenecks and lack of information resulted in confusion.

In response to our queries, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has given some suggestions on how to avoid the worst of the MCE woes.

BOTTLENECKS

Who: Marketing manager Ian Tan, 37

Where and when: MCE exit to Marina Bay Financial Centre, 8.30am

How long: 20 minutes

The motorcyclist, who usually takes the Central Expressway to work, decided to try an alternative route via the KPE on Monday.

Mr Tan, who works at One Marina Boulevard, thinks that the exit leading towards the CBD is the problem.

"It is poor planning. The roads in the Marina South area are too small to deal with the additional traffic.

"Traffic is already lighter than usual today. It will be a real nightmare when people get to work after the holiday season."

INADEQUATE INFORMATION

Who: Field accident investigator Theva Thurairaju, 60

Where and when: Rochor Road, 9.20am

How long: Two hours Mr Theva did not even enter the MCE but he was stuck at Rochor Road for almost two hours. He was heading to Shenton Way and the journey would have usually taken five minutes.

"There were no signs... There was an auxiliary policeman who told me to go straight to the MCE, but wherever I turned, there was still a jam," he said.

"I saw people just walking out from their taxis. This is the worst jam that I've been seen in my history of driving," said Mr Theva, who has been driving for 37 years.

NOT ENOUGH GUIDE

Who: Ms Veronica Heng, an operational assistant manager in her 40s

Where and when: ECP, 8.45am

How long: One hour

Ms Heng and her cab driver were confused about the new route that she had to take from her Marine Parade home to her office at Tanjong Pagar.

"When we got to the ECP, the road seemed to have changed so much.

Everyone, including the taxi driver, was confused.

"There were only one or two traffic wardens to lead the way, which is too inefficient. I even called the LTA to ask if this was a permanent change."

She took an hour instead of the usual 20 minutes and spent about double her usual taxi fare of $17.

"I was so frustrated that I didn't even know when I passed the MCE," Ms Heng said.

CONFUSING ROADS

Who: Obstetrician and gynaecologist in private practice, Dr Anthony Siow

Where and when: Fort Road, 11am

How long: 40 minutes

Dr Siow's journey from Keppel Road to his home in the Fort Road area usually takes 10 minutes via the ECP.

He said there seemed to be "no logic" as drivers had to drive eastwards to make a U-turn to get onto the westward expressway and vice versa.

He was particularly concerned with the route from the AYE to the airport.

"There were only two lanes at Exit 5 - one to Fort Road and the other to the ECP. The other lines direct you to the TPE (Tampines Expressway).

"Now, all it'll take is a large vehicle to break down at one of these exits or a bad accident, then those coming from west to the airport would definitely not make their flight."

UNFAMILIARITY

Who: Dr Park Byung Joon, head of programme for Urban Transport Management at SIM University, noted that there was similar traffic in other parts of Singapore.

Other factors: "It appears that the traffic within the main tunnel was not the major cause of the jam, but it was the traffic flow exiting from the MCE.

We observed that there were similar incidents in other major expressways.

For example, morning traffic to the Paya Lebar exit on PIE (Pan-Island Expressway, towards Tuas) is always very heavy, blocking one or two lanes on the PIE that causes slow traffic.

"Monday's congestion on the MCE could be caused by drivers' unfamiliarity with the new expressway. If this is the reason, the traffic jam on MCE will get visibly better as the days pass," he said.

- Additional reporting by Judith Tan

LTA RESPONDS

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will make the following adjustments to ease the congestion.

More temporary signs at key approaches will be put up to alert motorists of the road network changes and the best way to get to their destination.

Traffic wardens will continue to be deployed to help direct motorists.

A short stretch of Central Boulevard will be immediately converted from two lanes to four lanes. This would enable better traffic into and along Central Boulevard towards Shenton Way.

SPECIFIC ROUTE ADVICE

WESTBOUND FROM ECP TO CBD

Motorists heading towards the Shenton Way or Anson Road areas can use MCE Exit 1 to Maxwell Road instead of using Exit 3 to Central Boulevard.

WESTBOUND FROM OPHIR ROAD TO AYE

Use other arterial roads or CTE to connect with AYE, instead of using Ophir Road Interchange.

WESTBOUND FROM ECP TO AYE

Join MCE at Exit 14B near Fort Road to get to AYE, instead of using Sheares Avenue to exit at Marina Boulevard to re-enter MCE and connect to AYE.

EASTBOUND FROM AYE TO ECP

Continue journey on MCE instead of using Exit 2 to Central Boulevard.

EASTBOUND FROM CBD TO ECP

Use Sheares Avenue to access the ECP.

EASTBOUND FROM AYE TO CBD

Motorists heading towards the Shenton Way or the CBD areas from AYE can exit at Exit 2B (not on map) and use Keppel Road/Anson Road . Alternatively, they can use the CTE and use Exit 2 to Merchant Road.

OTHER SOLUTIONS

WIDEN ROADS

Dr Park Byung Joon, head of programme for Urban Transport Management at SIM University, said the design of the roads exiting from the MCE could be a cause of the jams.

He suggested widening roads or allocating more lanes to certain exits, but also noted that such a solution would take time.

ADJUST TRAFFIC LIGHTS

Dr Park also offered some immediate solutions to the congestion.

"What can be done more immediately is to adjust the traffic light intervals in favour of traffic coming out of the MCE or forbidding left turns at a few junctions."

USE ANOTHER EXIT

Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Gan Thiam Poh, who has been observing the downtown traffic from his office at Marina Bay Financial Centre, suggested an alternative exit.

"I think most people are not aware, but there are two entrances to the CBD from the MCE, not just via Central Boulevard."

Mr Gan, who is a member of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Transport, was referring to a temporary slip road to Prince Edward Road for the Maxwell Road area (Exit 1).

He also noted that the jam in the downtown area is worsened by the road and tunnelling works for the upcoming MRT line.
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#3
MCE is built to increase the land value of Marina Bay. Imagine your balcony is facing an expressway and cars zoom past from dawn to dusk, will the super-rich like that?

Marina One Residences, jointly developed by Khazanah Nasional & Temasek Holdings is on a site(behind Marina Bay MRT red line) beside the section of the ECP that is going to be removed.

Government is always smart when it comes to making $$$ Tongue

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#4
Brilliant thinking. So still can bet property in the central region?
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#5
I will say commercial properties are a better investment now unless you are buying for your own stay.

What are your thoughts?
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#6
wow now looking back at the map and what u said, this govt do land urban planning, seems like they are planning and tearing off the entire iconic sheares bridges just for the riches?
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#7
Rainbow 
Ai Yo... blame the Gov again?

Relax lar.... it's still new year...

Be happy always.
感恩 26 April 2019 Straco AGM ppt  https://valuebuddies.com/thread-2915-pos...#pid152450
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#8
(03-01-2014, 07:40 AM)pianist Wrote: wow now looking back at the map and what u said, this govt do land urban planning, seems like they are planning and tearing off the entire iconic sheares bridges just for the riches?

You hit the head of the nail.
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#9
(03-01-2014, 07:40 AM)pianist Wrote: wow now looking back at the map and what u said, this govt do land urban planning, seems like they are planning and tearing off the entire iconic sheares bridges just for the riches?

Your myopia is quite serious. I got cheap lobang for eye prescriptions.
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#10
(03-01-2014, 11:05 AM)valueinvestor Wrote:
(03-01-2014, 07:40 AM)pianist Wrote: wow now looking back at the map and what u said, this govt do land urban planning, seems like they are planning and tearing off the entire iconic sheares bridges just for the riches?

You hit the head of the nail.

rename it LKY Bridge then will be safe for at least 2 general elections.

Prince Edward Exit going to be tear down?? Learn some thing new today.

the road space redevt into office. the land itself can pay for MCE with change.
"... but quitting while you're ahead is not the same as quitting." - Quote from the movie American Gangster
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