Why Singapore hates bicycle riders so much?

I’m not in a position to judge because I’m on a pass here, but rather curious. Why does the Singapore government hate bicycle riders so much?

Maybe it’s different in other areas, but bike parking doesn’t exist around River Valley, or it’s located in the same place where smokers hang out, so every time I ride to say Funan or Great World, I must crawl through smokers and them awful fumes.

The park connection along the Singapore River, where personal mobility devices are allowed with no limits, is designed so you can’t ride without always being vigilant.

Poor pedestrians have no idea it’s supposed to be a “bike highway” and walk in zig zags or rows. Some stretches even have restaurant staff suddenly walking from behind columns with food and beverages.

Near the Great World, the connector goes through the children’s play area. It’s total pandemonium, and it’s to believe that it was designed this way but wasn’t a quick band-aid afterthought.

Being a pedestrian is no easier, but at least you can fit those narrow footpaths or navigate through the labyrinth of tables and trash bins in front of shophouses.

What do you think? From the outside, with all those car laws, Singapore appears like pedestrian heaven, but after living here for a while, I realize that unless you have a car, you’re a second-class citizen in the city.

Netizens’ comments

because of the infrastructure here that pits cyclists against cars and pedestrians. there is no where for cyclists to cycle. on the roads cars feel they have the right of way, and the same for pedestrians on the sidewalk.

The Park Connector Network was originally envisioned as nature trails by NParks back in 1995. It was never meant to be used as proper cycling infrastructure. But it was co-opted by LTA when they started getting serious about it around 2010.That’s why it’s so bad in much of the city centre, and why it’s built to the best standards in parks like the ECP.

As someone who took up cycling in a cycling friendly country (even bicycle parts are exempt from GST here), learned driving and lived there.

My observations on riders in SG are as follows.

SG driving training doesn’t say much about sharing the roads with cyclist and how one should drive whenever encountering them. As i know it is just a brief mention and there’s no strong emphasis on putting on driver’s onus for a cyclist’s safety.

SG roads weren’t originally designed with cyclists in mind, so they are to take up a car lane.

Bicycles on the road are only becoming popular in the last 15 years or so. Therefore it is understandable many drivers are impatient having to put up with something that wasn’t in great numbers as before.

Cyclists on the other hand also felt that how drivers should respond to them is an assumed entitlement without much regards how an average driver generally didn’t have to put up with them previously. I believe many who learnt driving in SG weren’t trained to face scenarios where cyclists cut across lanes just to turn right in a major intersection or having bicycles on flyovers. Cyclists simply expect drivers to somehow give way.

There’s no concrete and uniform cyclists education in Singapore (as far as I know). Cyclists are pretty much rather free moving while on the road. e.g. going against direction of traffic, adhering to either traffic or pedestrian lights whenever one is more convenient. Cycling in a rather unpredictable manner on the road.

On pedestrian paths, cyclists expect pedestrians give way to them whereas in other countries cyclists are instead expected to stop. This poses many safety hazards to pedestrian. In pedestrian malls, cyclists should be expected to walk their bikes than to speed through.

Lights on bicycles are not standardised. I have strobing front lights, or strobing rear WHITE lights. Brightness of which can blind other road users.

Blasting loud music or radio on a bike.