Traffic Impact Assessment for Construction of Staging Ground at Marina East

Mr Lim Biow Chuan asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether a traffic impact assessment had been carried out prior to having the construction staging ground located at Marina East; and (b) when will this temporary staging ground be relocated.

The temporary occupation licence (TOL) for the construction staging ground at Marina East was first issued to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in 2014, before activities in the area generated significant traffic impact. In 2016, arising from new TOL applications in the East Coast/Marina Bay area, a joint Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) was carried out for the TOLs in the East Coast/Marina Bay area, as they share the same access road.

The Marina East staging ground is segregated from the existing residential area by East Coast Parkway and East Coast Park. Nevertheless, LTA has adopted measures to minimise disamenities to road users in the vicinity. For example, queue bays are provided in the staging ground, and throughput has been enhanced so that heavy vehicles do not overflow onto public roads. LTA is also working closely with the developers and contractors in the area to develop localised traffic control plans to improve safety and minimise inconvenience to other road users. These include managing the schedules and routes of heavy vehicles to avoid peak hour traffic and residential areas, where possible. There are also signs to alert motorists to slow down and watch out for heavy vehicles.

From a land-use perspective, the Marina East staging ground currently supports LTA's rail and road infrastructure projects. When these projects are completed, we will review whether to continue the use of this staging ground, in connection with the timing of future development plans for the area.