Commuter felt ‘uncomfortable’ walking near large fan at Punggol Coast MRT station
A commuter said they felt “uncomfortable” walking through Punggol Coast MRT station, where a large standing fan is positioned directly along the concourse.
Commuter felt wary of large standing fan
In a TikTok post uploaded on Monday (7 Sept) by @skyjackwong, the Original Poster (OP) highlighted the fan’s prominent placement.
The video showed the large industrial-style standing fan in the middle of the station concourse. Its large blades could be seen rotating overhead as commuters walked past it.
The OP expressed their uneasiness in the caption: “At Punggol Coast Station, I feel uncomfortable when I walk through the middle of the concourse.”
@skyjackwong Punggol Coast 站，我走到大堂中间会不舒服。 那支风扇立在正中央，扇叶那么大，就转在头顶上。理性上知道不会有事，但经过的时候就是想快点走开。 Punggol Coast station. Something about walking through the middle of that hall makes me uneasy. That fan sits right in the centre, big blades spinning overhead. I know nothing’s going to happen — but I still walk faster past it. #puggolcoast #punggolcoastmrt #scary
♬ Spooky, quiet, scary atmosphere piano songs – Skittlegirl Sound
They explained that the fan’s blades were “so large” and were spinning directly above people’s heads.
“Rationally, I know nothing is going to happen, but whenever I pass by it, I just want to get away as quickly as possible,” the OP said.
Text overlaid on the video also described it as a “terrible design fan”.
Mixed reactions, some feel that fan is perfectly safe
The post has since started a discussion on how safe the large standing fan is, with some defending its functionality.
A netizen shared that Newton Hawker Centre uses the same fans and that they are working well.
Source: TikTok
A commenter was concerned that the fan might glitch, causing the blades to fly off and injure someone.
Source: TikTok
Another netizen felt that this standing fan was “much safer” than “those ceiling fans”.
Source: TikTok
OP knows that fan is perfectly safe
The OP, a 39-year-old IT manager, told MS News that she has been to Punggol Coast MRT station many times before.
Recently, she decided to film the fan during her visit on 6 Sept at around 2.30pm.
“Although I knew that the fan was perfectly safe, its position felt psychologically quite low and intimidating to me,” she said.
Image provided by @skyjackwong
Because of its large size and apparent closeness, she felt a sense of fear and pressure when walking near it.
“I would naturally speed up and walk away from the area,” she added.
When the OP first saw the fan, her initial reaction was: “Why is such a large fan installed near the staircase?”
“As you walk up the stairs, it feels like you are getting closer and closer to the fan, which made me feel a little uncomfortable.”
Fan is part of hybrid cooling approach
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the Punggol Coast station was awarded the Green Mark Platinum Certification under BCA’s Green Mark for Transit Station scheme.
This award was for its use of environmentally-friendly building materials and energy-efficient systems.
These included a hybrid cooling approach comprising the use of Punggol Digital District’s District Cooling System for air-conditioning within the station, supplemented by fans at the station platform level.
Also read: Why some S’pore MRT stations have these ‘random’ features, from bright colours to numbered exits
Why some S’pore MRT stations have these ‘random’ features, from bright colours to numbered exits
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Featured image adapted from @skyjackwong on TikTok.
