Looking back at the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, there was a drastic increase in the demand for bicycles, greatly due to the heightened anxiety over the usage of public transportation as well as the surge in exercise. This has led to cycling becoming a much more popular mode of transportation in Singapore, significantly so especially in the past 2 years. There was up to 30% rise in the number of cyclists on the road in 2019 alone. Hence, many choosing to use bicycles as their form of mobility has consequently led to a great increase in the sales of bicycles. Since then, with a whole new biking community on the rise in Singapore, many have discovered many new routes to take on their biking endeavors.
(National Parks Board, 2022)
The Singapore government has made the city interconnected via The Park Connector Network (PCN), which is an island-wide network of linear green corridors linking major parks and nature areas all across Singapore, with more than 300 km of trails. Through this, it allows further and greater connectivity between major towns in Singapore through the trails like the Coast-to-Coast Central Trail. For example, the Round-Island Route is quite notable as it connects through many locations like Coney Island, Changi Beach, as well as East Coast Park.
Along the way of these trails, there are many other facilities like cafes and playgrounds to engage as well as accommodate to people of all ages, making the park connectors a recreational area to meet new people.
With countless people utilizing the PCN routes for commuting and leisure activities daily, there has been measures and laws put in place to ensure that the users of the park are safe and make the PCN trail itself a safe environment for everyone. Some of these rules include regulations on the type of devices that are allowed on the various paths, the regulations for pet-owners as well as abiding by the various signs that are put up.
With many now actively utilizing the PCN trail of network, NParks has plans to expand and curate a 360km island-wide network of recreational routes comprising park connectors and trails, covering a greater expanse of space in Singapore, and making the park connectors accessible to more. This will definitely provide opportunities for more people to take up nature-based recreational activities including cycling.
References:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/park-connector-network
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/park-connector-network/round-island-route
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/dos-and-donts/pcn-etiquette
