Efforts to meet the sustained interest in the Tampines Bike Park

Question

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Tampines Bike Park will be closed; (b) if so, when will it be closed; and (c) what are the plans to provide replacement sites for the mountain bike trail and the world-class BMX track. 

Response

Acting Minister Lawrence Wong: The Tampines Bike Park is scheduled to be closed as its site is required for residential use. The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) will continue to operate the Bike Park for as long as possible until the site is required by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), tentatively around the middle of 2014. 

We recognise that there has been sustained interest in the Tampines Bike Park since the site was developed for the Youth Olympic Games in 2010. SSC will seek to continue to cater to the needs of its users after the closure. 

For mountain biking, there are alternative sites such as the Bukit Timah mountain bike (MTB) trail, the Kent Ridge MTB Trail and the Ketam MTB Trail in Pulau Ubin.These provide sufficient capacity and varying difficulty levels to cater to a wide range of mountain bike trail users. 

As for the BMX track, SSC is in discussion with the land planning authorities, namely the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Housing Development Board and National Parks Board, for potential replacement sites. 
SSC will provide an update on the study before the closure of the Tampines Bike Park, and aims to provide a replacement by the end of 2014.