The Traffic Rush

A couple weeks ago a girl and her dad were driving to the nearby mall, Parkway parade. They were sitting in the car for 45 minutes to reach their destination, the same destination that took 15 minutes to reach 3 years ago. “I should have take the other route,” the girls dad said. “It wouldn’t have helped, there is a queue there too!” the girl replied. The 2 of them waited impatiently to take the next u - turn so they could finally enter the building but as they turned the corner and entered the parking lot, there wait wasn’t over.

It was a pandemonium! There were cars entering from all directions of the car park and the first couple floors were chock a block full. The ceiling hung low, making the parking lot seem even more claustrophobic. They had to climb up to the 6th floor to find one cozy parking spot next to to 2 badly parked cars. It had taken them about 20 minutes just to find parking!

This is only one example of the traffic increase in Singapore. According to many Singaporean residents it used to take people 10-15 minutes to get just about anywhere in Singapore but that time has now grown to 20 - 45 minutes. Many people all across the globe make jokes about how Singapore is so small and how easy it is to get around but now that really has become just a joke.
This reporter found that 5 years ago, from the fort road junction it used to take 7 minutes to reach Changi airport. Recently the reporter checked again and the time has increased to 17 minutes. This is a tremendous change and something must be done to stop the growth of traffic. The Singapore government makes the prices of cars extremely high but this doesn't stop the wealthy population from buying more and more. We need to turn the joke back into reality.

Written by Aditi