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Nothing beats a horror story in Singapore. Besides, records shows that horror books were the most borrowed genre in local Libraries. Remembered I was travelling in a Taxi towards Punggol new estates and the cab driver took a short cut via Buangkok instead of taking the SLE and TPE. Along the way were many new but vacant HDB blocks (except for a few occupied units) along Buangkok. Felt eerie although it was only 6 plus in the evening. The cab driver told me that the estate is haunted as many of his colleagues drove past at night and saw some paranormal "things" on the road. He also told me that a young couple wanted to return their new flat in Buangkok to HDB bcos they saw a "woman" cooking in their unit when they opened the door. Well, it is up to us whether we believe these sightings but anyhow, do you have any interesting stories to share on haunted estates in Singapore?

The Ministry of National Development (MND) may try out different mechanised parking systems in housing estates by the end of the year to ease a mounting carpark crunch. No location has been identified yet, but the pilot tests of such systems are likely to be carried out in older HDB estates with space constraints, said MP Lee Bee Wah, who is chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee (GPC) for National Development. But before the pilot tests begin, the MND will work with the National Development GPC to conduct a study to assess the suitability of such systems, and to gather feedback. BACKGROUND STORY THE RATIONALE 'I would think solving the problems faced by residents is on a case-by-case basis. It doesn't mean residents go and vote to have a mechanised carpark system or not. Where there is a need, and there is no other cheaper option, then we would put in the mechanised parking system, should we find it suitable.' MP Lee Bee Wah, when asked if the process of deciding where to build mechanised carparks will be similar to that of lift upgrading Ms Lee was speaking to reporters on Thursday during a tour of a fully automated carpark in Club Street. MPs Penny Low and Gan Thiam Poh, who are both members of the GPC, were also present. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan, in a blog entry last month, had raised the possibility of building mechanised carparks in HDB estates to ease the parking crunch. The problem is especially acute in older housing estates because fewer residents owned cars then, and fewer parking spaces were planned. Other types of carparks may not be suitable for such estates because of space constraints in a built-up area. While mechanised parking is not new here, it is used mainly in commercial buildings like hospitals and condominiums. Some have questioned if such systems are suitable for residential estates. Acknowledging such concerns, Ms Lee said: 'Residents worry about reliability and the cost being passed back to them. It looks like it costs more, but as technology advances, and land becomes scarce, at one point it could become a viable solution.' Other concerns, she noted, include retrieval time and the reliability of such systems. But she stressed that mechanised parking is an option meant for older estates which have exhausted all other avenues to ease the parking problem. That is also why it is important to conduct a study of the various mechanised parking systems before coming to a decision, she added. The MPs on Thursday toured the fully automated carpark, known as M-Park@Club Street, which was built at a cost of $6 million. It uses a lift to transport cars to up to four levels and can house up to 140 vehicles at full capacity. A driver need only drive his vehicle into a car-lift and park it in the correct position. After pulling the handbrake and keying in a PIN number, the driver can leave the system to automatically park the car. To retrieve the car, a driver has to key in the PIN, and wait for about four minutes on average. For every 10 cars parked in a normal carpark, the mechanised system can park from 12 to 15 cars, said Mr Jeffrey Tan, division manager at MHE-Demag, which supplies the system. But in its four years of operation, the system has broken down about three times a month. The waiting time for drivers to retrieve their cars can also stretch from less than an hour, to three hours. Mr Tan attributed this to a variety of factors, such as mechanical faults of the moving parts, and a driver not positioning his car correctly. But he said: 'Educating and familiarising the users is a key factor in ensuring it runs smoothly. Once that's done, the incident rates will go down.' source: http://www.straitstimes.com/The-Big-Story/...ory_755139.html

Hi guys, Do you know whether cars are allowed to park at private landed housing estates where there is no marking on both sides of the roads? It seems like a cost saving way of parking car. Thank you. Regards,

A photo illustration by the Ministry of Transport showing a road junction at Marine Crescent with road signs for "Silver Zone". New road features aimed at improving safety are being introduced in five residential estates, under a "Silver Zone" pilot programme by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). New road features aimed at improving safety are being introduced in five residential estates, under a "Silver Zone" pilot programme by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). Some of these include special road signs and markings, centre dividers and road humps, as well as speed limit reductions to 40kmh along certain roads. Works will start in early August in the first two estates - Bukit Merah and Jurong West - and are expected to be completed by the end of the year, the LTA said in a statement on Monday. The improvements were decided on after studying best practices overseas in countries like South Korea and the United States, and were announced earlier in the Committee of Supply Debate, it added. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/new-road-features-make-five-residential-estates-safer-el

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said it will be zeroing in on housing estates where there had been cases of falling windows, for future inspections. BCA has been conducting windows inspections at private and HDB estates since 2006. This comes as the number of falling windows shot up 75 per cent in the first five months of the year. There were 35 cases of falling windows between January and May, compared to 20 in the same period last year. The number of fallen windows is on the rise, with 57 cases last year, up from 50 in 2010. The BCA's Building Plan and Management Group Deputy Director, Jeremy Tan said seven in 10 cases were due to poor maintenance. "For BCA, every fallen window is a serious incident. However, since 2004 there has been seven fallen windows incidents which have caused injury. Moving forward, we would like to encourage the public to periodically maintain their windows to ensure their window safety." Most of these cases involved casement windows which are attached to frames by hinges. 85 per cent of casement windows fell off because homeowners did not replace aluminium rivets with stainless steel ones. BCA and HDB said they have stepped up efforts to raise awareness, with 10 roving exhibitions on window safety planned for this year, compared to just one last year. Toolkits will also be distributed to residents to help them check their windows. The kits comprise of a mirror to help them check if their window screws are loose; a brush, and a bottle of oil to help them clean and lubricate joints and moveable parts. Homeowner Colin Khoo said the extra education efforts would help. "I think it's about proper education but I think sometimes, generally, windows we always believe that it's a very sturdy piece of equipment and nothing can happen and so over the many years, people tend to take it for granted that this construction is of sturdiness, so it's just being careful and being more aware I think at the end of the day about doing your window checks. And I think generally what BCA recommends is do it every half a year." Under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, homeowners or tenants could be fined up to S$10,000, and jailed up to one year, if a window falls due to lack of maintenance. Those found to have casement windows with aluminium rivets also face a further penalty of S$5,000 and six months jail, for failing to retrofit their windows with stainless steel rivets. Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1205439/1/.html

From ST Forum: http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Online...ory_768477.html Issue of parking in private estates a complex one Published on Feb 20, 2012 WHILE the Land Transport Authority regularly enforces against illegal parking or stopping along expressways and major arterial roads, we manage the enforcement in private residential estates taking into account the needs of its many users ('Illegal parking a chronic problem' by Mr Song Koon Poh; last Monday). Public roads in private residential estates serve its residents, community service providers and visitors to the estate, so parking needs will vary among different private estates. Where the situation is complex, we consult the neighbourhood committee, grassroots and residents when working out the parking restriction arrangement. For example, residents and visitors to an estate may be allowed to park along the roads if they do not pose a safety hazard, obstruct traffic or block access, and if the community at large accepts such an arrangement. We seek the understanding of residents that the issue of parking in private estates is a complex one, especially as more households own more than one car. We will continue to work closely with the residents in each community to strike an appropriate balance between providing for parking needs and ensuring smooth traffic flow. Where there is indiscriminate parking, we will take enforcement action against these vehicles. We thank Mr Song for his feedback. Helen Lim (Ms) Director, Media Relations & Public Education Land Transport Authority

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Got any ppl put hope in tis bor ? The latest update i see from the HDB website. 7342 applicants for 354 flats. The thing is....application closes only on 16th Aug.....the final applicants will swallon even more. http://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BP13BTO...S?strSystem=WIC The town im interested in(toa payoh) has only 2 x 5 rooms flats on offer. Gosh.....must be damnnnnnn buddy lucky then can get it.