About 200 HDBs found to be unfeasible for lift upgrading
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Uphill slog for residents in blocks that cannot have lift upgrading
SINGAPORE: When retiree Mr Kok Chun Tong moved into his five-room flat at Choa Chu Kang with his wife more than 20 years ago, he had chosen it for its peace and privacy.
It was a pleasant stay for the 79-year-old and his wife until the past few years, when health issues cropped up. The trips Mrs Kok make to the wet market became more difficult, because there are no lifts servicing his flat.
“We are old, and the groceries are not exactly very light,” said Mr Kok in Mandarin. “Sometimes visitors get lost when they come visit.”
Mr Kok is one of the many residents who live in about 200 Housing and Development Board (HDB) blocks across the island where lift upgrading has been found to be unfeasible, either because of cost issues, or technical constraints.
In the Keat Hong ward in Choa Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency alone, there are 32 blocks where lift upgrading has been deemed unfeasible, said its Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad.
Mr Zaqy said the blocks were designed in such a way that lift upgrading was not possible. Although there are lifts on every floor, the corridors are segmented. This meant that some areas only had two units facing other other — offering greater privacy — but the residents of these particular units had to go onto another floor to access the lifts unlike their neighbours on the same floor.
The other issue making lift upgrading unfeasible for some blocks is cost, he added. HDB stipulates a cost cap for lift installations at no more than S$30,000 per unit.
Given the lower number of units that would benefit from the upgrading, the average cost would bust that limit, said Mr Zaqy.
But Senior Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan told Parliament on Monday (Jul 13) that the HDB was piloting two new solutions — the Pneumatic Vacuum Elevator (PVE) and the Vertical Platform Lift (VPL) — for HDB blocks where lift upgrading has not been feasible. Trials of the PVE started last month, while the VPL is currently being evaluated, Mr Lee said.
Meanwhile, residents in Keat Hong whom TODAY spoke to are still holding out hope for direct lift access for their units, even as they have slowly come to terms with the inconvenience.
When housewife Esther Lim’s father comes to visit, she has to take extra care in helping him up and down stairs because he needs a walking stick to move around. “It’s a bit more difficult, because he is heavier,” said the mother of an infant, who also faces difficulty in bringing the stroller up and down the stairs.
While the lack of direct lift access poses no issues for Madam Ong Siew Hway, 65, she and her husband are concerned that when they get older and less mobile, it might be more difficult for them to move around.
Despite the bugbears, some residents said moving out to a more accessible block was not an option for them, for various reasons.
Mr Zaqy said some residents, especially the elderly, are “caught by policy”, whereby it is harder and costlier for them to purchase resale flats, while they may also not qualify to buy Build-to-Order flats.
-- TODAYonline
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What?
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Then why during election time, unsuitable for upgrading blocks suddenly became suitable for upgrading ( http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/sitoh-unveils-lift-upgrading-plans-for-potong-pasir ) ?
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Originally posted by Neutral-Thinker:
Then why during election time, unsuitable for upgrading blocks suddenly became suitable for upgrading ( http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/sitoh-unveils-lift-upgrading-plans-for-potong-pasir ) ?
magic happened
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Upgrade all 200 HDB blocks, including Blk 542, 544-549, 554-559 Hougang