Covered walkway in Punggol doesn't provide shelter to bus stop, ends at safety barrier

The HDB blocks served by the bus stop were built in 2016.

Nigel Chua | December 03, 2020, 08:57 PM

Covered walkways are one of the greatest things in Singapore.

On rainy days, many Housing and Development Board (HDB) estate dwellers are able to get to and from bus stops and MRT stations without an umbrella.

This is unfortunately not the case for residents in the HDB estate of Waterway Sundew, a cluster of blocks located along Edgedale Plains in Punggol.

A video uploaded to Facebook by user Lim Vernon shows how a covered walkway extends from the HDB block to the sole bus stop in the area, only to end at a metal railing.

The post's caption posed the question of who inspected and approved the structure, and asked who would have to pay for the rectification works.

The video, which appears to have been edited on the Tiktok app, contains text calling it "the dumbest design".

Screenshot from video by Lim Vernon on Facebook.

The video shows how the bus stop is two steps lower than the walkway to the HDB blocks, which explains the need for a railing.

However, two staircases on either side of the bus stop do not come under the shelter of the covered walkway.

The HDB blocks served by the bus stop were built in 2016, and the covered walkway is likely to have been built in 2016 as well.

A comment on the post by user Clement Kang contains a screenshot of an email, which was apparently sent by a Senior Estate Executive of the Punggol Branch, presumably from HDB, stating that the covered walkway would be extended.

Mothership has reached out to HDB for comment on the case.

You can see the video here:

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