LTA to replace yellow tactile tiles at pedestrian crossings islandwide by 2030, with more durable & skid-resistant ones

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has begun a four-year upgrading programme to install new tactile tiles with improved durability and skid resistance at pedestrian crossings, the agency said in response to media queries.

The upgrading programme will take place islandwide progressively over the next four years and is estimated to be completed by 2030.

The new tiles will have better durability and are more resistant to skidding and slipping.

In June, a former Singapore Airlines (SIA) air stewardess fractured her ankle after slipping on yellow tactile tiles near Thomson Medical.

Following ankle surgery, she collapsed and died two weeks later.

Alternative tile material study began in 2024

LTA said that tactile paving was installed at pedestrian crossings since 2010 to guide visually impaired pedestrians.

These tiles comply with international standards for skid resistance, including in wet conditions, LTA said.

In a media reply in August 2024, LTA said that it was studying an alternative tile material with improved skid resistance and durability.

In that same reply, LTA also said that since April that year, it had started implementing an improved tactile tile layout in collaboration with social service agencies, including the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped and the Guide Dogs Association.

The new design featured a 300mm gap between tactile tiles to reduce the risk of slips in wet weather, while still ensuring sufficient guidance for the visually impaired.

Recent incident

On Jun. 22, 40-year-old Venecia Ng slipped and fell on yellow tactile paving tiles which had become slippery after rain.

She had worked as a SIA stewardess for 10 years before moving on to a role at Thomson Medical.

Ng was crossing the road from a shophouse office to the hospital building when she fell.

She fractured her ankle and underwent surgery on Jun. 30.

While things went well initially, Ng complained of breathlessness and collapsed afterwards in the wee hours of Jul. 2.

Ng subsequently passed away.

Her death certificate, seen by Mothership, states her cause of death as multi-organ failure following pulmonary thromboembolism, a condition where blood clots block the arteries in the lungs.

LTA said that the tactile tiles at the spot where Ng fell were installed in June 2025.

"LTA has inspected the tiles at the location and they are unimpaired," it said.

"We are saddened to learn of Ms Ng’s passing and express our heartfelt condolences to her family," it added.