A busy stretch of Orchard Road in front of Plaza Singapura will become car-free from 2025 and link up with an expanded Istana Park.
The change will be part of a revamp of the Dhoby Ghaut area that will make the area more friendly to visitors.
Source: Google Maps
It will require diverting traffic from Orchard Road to Penang Road instead.
The affected portion of Orchard Road stretches from Buyong Road to Handy Road, a distance of 500m, The Straits Times (ST) reported.
It’s a five-lane carriageway that’s one way, and a popular route for motorists heading from Orchard to the Bras Basah and City Hall areas.
Pedestrianising that stretch of Orchard Road will allow the Istana entrance and commercial establishments like Plaza Singapura to be better integrated with the planned expansion of Istana Park, ST quoted the National Parks Board (NParks) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as saying.
These developments will be completed progressively from 2025.
Currently, the Dhoby Ghaut area consists of three green spaces separated by roads:
Source: Google Maps
The plan is to combine these three green spaces into one, thereby expanding the Istana Park from 1.3 hectares to about three times bigger.
Source: URA
This necessitates the pedestrianisation of the 500m stretch of Orchard Road to connect the Istana entrance to the expanded Istana Park.
To do this, traffic from Orchard will have to be diverted to Penang Road instead.
As Penang Road currently has one-way traffic, that part of the road will have to be converted to bi-directional.
Source: Google Maps
While that stretch mostly has five lanes, the portion between the junction with Handy Road and the Fort Canning Tunnel is just two lanes wide.
While the changes are sweeping, they will be balanced by adding a few recreational features that might make the upheaval worth it.
For example, the Penang Road Open Space section, and the small existing carpark there, will have an orchid-themed garden with fragrant orchids suitable for butterflies, according to ST.
Source: Google Maps
The pedestrianised stretch of Orchard will become a flexible activity space.
Part of the Dhoby Ghaut Green portion will house a nature play garden with a water play area.
Source: URA
These ambitious plans didn’t come out of the blue but are years in the making.
In 2019, the URA released plans to “strengthen Orchard Road’s attractiveness as a highly walkable urban corridor”.
One of the proposed ways was to enhance the connections between the open spaces in Dhoby Ghaut, foreshadowing the pedestrianisation of the relevant section of Orchard Road.
Those plans also included an inclusive playground at Dhoby Ghaut Green where children of all abilities can “explore and learn about nature in a fun manner”.
Source: URA
They also mooted a new flexible events space in the same area, with a canopy shelter that makes it possible to host events like F&B festivals and fashion shows.
Source: URA
The upgrading was also included in the URA’s plans unveiled in 2020 to “enhance Orchard Road as a lifestyle destination” by transforming it into a “lush green corridor”.
Source: URA
These plans envisioned Dhoby Ghaut as a “new green oasis”.
Lifestyle programming, where commercial establishments can extend their activities into a park setting, can bring “greater vibrancy” to the area, they said.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and URA.
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