Are town coundils spending wisely?
I could not agree more with Mdm Natalie Hwang's letter "Why keep changing tiles and who pays?" (ST, June 1).
The time has come for the relevant government agency to be more transparent in how it manages the conservancy charge residents pay monthly. 
With some households paying $85 a month, they need to be consulted when upgrading works are carried out. My Sengkang estate, for example, started installing rain shields for all the flats a few months ago, only to take them down after residents expressed their dismay.
Why do we waste money this way? I am sure the town council had to pay the contractor to fix and then remove them. The workers also left unsightly holes on our once faultless floor.
Another white elephant project is the cycling track which Pasir Ris Town Council undertook last year. A lot of money was used to build the steep track that leads straight to a road junction. It is also meandering with boulders and it is safer and easier to ride on the pavement. The track is badly constructed without much thought.
Would the town council be able to account for the work it had done?The residents need to know that $85 they pay every month is put to good use.
Cheryl Lai Oi Lee (Mdm)
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Below is the reply from the town council
The Straits Times, Thursday, June 15, 2006
Why Pasir Ris cycling track is not optimalWe thank Mdm Cheryl Lai Oi Lee for her feedback in the letter, "Are town councils spending wisely?: (ST, June 3).
Takes 12 days to reply with brainstorming from 2 PAP government bodies??? or Lawyer's draft??? The rain shield installed in some lift lobbies in Anchorvale (Sengkang) was a pilot project funded by HDB to prevent rainwater from splashing into the lobbies.
However, many residents did not find the design of the prototype rain shield appealing.
A dialogue session was held with residents of the affected blocks and a survey carried out on the proposed design. The survey showed that most preferred not ot have the rain shield. hence, the prototypes were dismantled.
Consult who??? PAP RC members??? As for the holes on the floor of the lift lobbies, they will be repaired together with treatment works HDB intends to carry out.
The Pasir Ris 21 Community project (cycling track) is part of the Pasir Ris 21 Vision, which originated from feedback and suggestions by residents and grassroots organisations.
As the distinct "Bicycle Town" culture developed in Pasir Ris over the years, we see a need to enhance the safety of both pedestrians and cyclists. We built the Pasir Ris 21 Community Mall to encourage cyclists to use the bicycle track instead of the pedestrain pavement and road.
Despite Pasir Ris' reputation as a Bicycle Town, our town was not designed at the outset for cycling. It was indeed a challenge for the Pasir Ris-Puggol Town Council to develop a 3.4km cycling track alongside existing pedestrian walkways with their pavillions, trellises, seating facilities and enhanced landscaping, and within the constraints of our estates' layout while connecting the major neighbourhood cnetres and MRT station.
Sound familiar - like Lift Upgrading, waste money, No planning for new townAdditional features such as speed-regulating strips, humps and bollards had to be erected at various segments of the community mall where there is high traffic or undulating landscape to ensure the safety of both pedestrians and cyclist.
Hence, the connnectivity of the community mall may out be optimal, but we hope that it has increased safety and convenience for residents and cyclists in their daily travels or exercise regimes.
For further clarification, residents can call the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Cojncil on 6585-4938 or HDB Sengkand Branch Office's Senior Technical Officer, Mr Neo Chwee Chua, on 6389-0210.
Tay Boon Sun
Senior Public Relations Officer for Director
(Corporate Development)
Housing & Development Board
