Man warns about Telok Blangah footpath with sharp drop near viaduct exit, LTA seals it off 8 hours later

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Talk about efficiency.

A man in Singapore, who goes by the Bike Guru moniker, personally made his way to a tricky footpath with a sharp vertical displacement in Telok Blangah that leads to the exit of a viaduct, to take photos of it to warn cyclists and pedestrians about the potential danger of that area.

This was after a friend of the man "fell down while cycling at this footpath connected to Telok Blangah MRT Station", Bike Guru wrote in a Facebook post on April 27 at 4:19pm.According to photos of the footpath that is accessible by pedestrians and cyclists, the walkway leads to a sharp drop that might not be very apparent to those approaching it from the nearby bus stop and overhead bridge until they got closer to it.

via Bike Guru

The optical illusion created by the downward sloping angle of the viaduct on the left and the lack of any guardrails on the right made it appear as if the path was connected all the way to the road at the end.

via Bike Guru

Moreover, based on the bare grass verge on the opposite side of the road, it was apparent that the path has been well-utilised by the public, even though it meant having to cross the viaduct to get to the footpath on the other side that leads to Labrador Park.

via Bike Guru

In his post, Bike Guru urged the public to spread the word about this particular area in a bid to warn those unfamiliar with it from making the same mistake.

He also tagged the Land Transport Authority and National Parks Board in his post.

Fixed in 8 hours

In a follow-up post on April 28 at 7:24am, Bike Guru wrote in his update that the footpath has been sealed off.He revealed that he returned to the area at around midnight earlier, as he and his friend wanted to put up a yellow and black hazard sticker on the ground as a precaution.

However, when they got there, workers had already "put up a permanent barrier to the entrance of the footpath leading to the crash site", he wrote.

via Bike Guru

via Bike Guru

via Bike Guru

via Bike Guru

To get to Labrador Park and the MRT station, pedestrians and cyclists "will now need to either utilise the overhead bridge to commute on the footpath on the opposite site of the road or cycle on the road", Bike Guru wrote.

In response to Bike Guru's second post, LTA said in the comment section:

Thank you Bike Guru for highlighting this. We have put up barriers to make it clear that the maintenance access to the viaduct structure is not meant for cyclists and pedestrians.

And as you have rightly pointed out, those who wish to access the MRT should use the pedestrian overhead bridge instead.

via LTA

Responses

Responses to the fix and quick turnaround time were varied.

Some commenters praised LTA for acting swiftly in fixing an issue that was not addressed for years.

Other commenters said this change could cause confusion to people cycling in the area, especially those who were relying on Google Maps, while some lamented that this would make walking to Labrador Park MRT station longer.

Others said the issue could have been flagged on the OneService app, which is a one-stop platform that lets citizens feedback on municipal issues without having to figure out which government agency or town council to contact.

Top photos via Bike Guru