Bukit Panjang

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Bukit Panjang
Planning Area and HDB Town
Other transcription(s)
 • MalayBukit Panjang (Rumi)
بوکيت ڤنجڠ‎ (Jawi)
 • Chinese武吉班让 (Simplified)
武吉班讓 (Traditional)
Wǔjí Bānràng (Pinyin)
Bú-kit Pan-jiāng (Hokkien POJ)
 • Tamilபுக்கிட் பாஞ்சாங்
Pukkiṭ Pāñcāṅ (Transliteration)
Junction of Bukit Panjang Road and Bukit Panjang Ring Road near Bukit Panjang Plaza, Singapore - 20130223.jpg
Bukit Panjang Estate (8026633031).jpg
Bukit timah rock.jpg
Zhenghua Community Club.JPG
Clockwise: A busy intersection between Bukit Panjang Road and Bukit Panjang Ring Road, Senja-Cashew Community Club with HDB flats in the background, Zhenghua Community Club, Summit of Bukit Timah Hill
Bukit Panjang is located in Singapore
Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang
Location of Bukit Panjang within Singapore
Coordinates: 1°22′51.00″N 103°45′45.00″E / 1.3808333°N 103.7625000°E / 1.3808333; 103.7625000
Country Singapore
RegionWest Region
CDC
Town Council
  • Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council
Constituencies
Government
 • MayorNorth West CDC
 • Members of ParliamentBukit Panjang SMC

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC

Area
[1][2]
 • Total8.99 km2 (3.47 sq mi)
 • Residential2.19 km2 (0.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[1][2][3]
 • Total139,280
 • Density15,000/km2 (40,000/sq mi)
Demonym
  • Bukit Panjang resident
Ethnic groups
[3]
 • Chinese103,280
 • Malays22,230
 • Indians10,300
 • Others3,210
Postal districts
21, 23
Dwelling units34,463
Projected ultimate44,000

Bukit Panjang is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. A portion of this town is situated on a low-lying elongated hill. The planning area is bounded by Bukit Batok to the west, Choa Chu Kang to the northwest, Sungei Kadut to the north, the Central Water Catchment to the east and Bukit Timah to the south. Bukit Panjang New Town is located at the northern portion of the planning area. Bukit Panjang has an average elevation of 36m/118 ft.[4]

The town is categorised into seven subzones, namely Jelebu, Bangkit, Fajar, Saujana, Senja, Dairy Farm and Nature Reserve.

Bukit Panjang is a quieter town compared to some of the older housing estates such as Toa Payoh, Ang Mo Kio and other more publicly discussed towns due to its lower population, but it has seen major developments in recent years.[5]

Etymology

Bukit in the Malay Language means "hill" and Panjang means "long". Bukit Panjang literally means "long hill" which gets its name from the long range of high hills which ends in Bukit Timah to the south.[citation needed]

At the height of the movement to change place names in Singapore to Mandarin ones using hanyu pinyin romanization, the new town to be built in the area was initially known as Zhenghua (正华), after the Pinyinised version of Cheng Hwa, which was derived from the old road Jalan Cheng Hwa, along with Yishun (义顺) for Nee Soon, and Zhujiao market for Tek Kha (竹脚) market in Kandang Kerbau. The trading of old non-Mandarin Chinese names which had gained common currency, for unfamiliar Mandarin ones, was not well received by the public, and Bukit Panjang was quickly reinstated. However, the name Zhenghua is preserved in the name of the flyover between Bukit Panjang Road and the Bukit Timah Expressway as well as the Zhenghua Park.[citation needed]

The roads there are named after old 60s kampung tracks (Lorong Petir, Lorong Pending, Jalan Fajar, Jalan Senja) which used to ply the area.

History

Bukit Panjang is a suburban town in western Singapore. Before redevelopment, Kampong Bukit Panjang used to exist in the area. Initially, instead of using the original place name, Bukit Panjang, there were plans to open up the new town using the name, Zhenghua. However, Bukit Panjang was quickly reinstated following complaints. Development of the town and advanced earthworks begun on 15 June 1981. HDB flats rose up by 20 May 1985, but only Blocks 1xx and 2xx were built so far. Neighbourhood 4 was up and running by 1989, and followed by Neighbourhood 5 and 6 which was the recent ones since 1995.

Administration

The Bukit Panjang area comes under the administrative lead of the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council, which oversees the management and maintenance of the many apartments (HDB flats) and commercial units in Bukit Panjang. Its chairman is Liang Eng Hwa.

Housing, amenities, and attractions

An HDB estate along Jelebu Road with the Bukit Panjang LRT.
Bukit Panjang Plaza, one of the popular malls in Bukit Panjang, before its second major renovation.

The town consists of a mixture of old and new blocks of flats, condominiums and private housing. To date, there are three community centers, namely Bukit Panjang Community Centre, Zhenghua Community Centre, and Senja-Cashew Community Club, which serve the entertainment, recreational, and educational needs of residents.

Bukit Panjang Plaza (Chinese: 武吉班让大厦; Pinyin: wǔjíbānràng dàshà) is one of the well-known malls in Bukit Panjang. It is located in the heart of Bukit Panjang town and is near Bukit Panjang LRT Station, Bukit Panjang MRT Station and Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange. Located on Jelebu Road, the mall has been expanded twice throughout its existence to include more shops in the building. The mall is owned by CapitaRetail which is another retail-based REIT by CapitaLand. The mall houses the Bukit Panjang Community Library as well as a NTUC FairPrice Finest supermarket.

Hillion Mall is another well-known mall in Bukit Panjang, located along Petir Road. It is one of the more recent commercial facilities, which completed construction and was opened to the public on 24 February 2017. It is part of the Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub, which shares the building with the Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange, and directly links to the Bukit Panjang MRT/LRT station through an underpass and above-ground link way respectively.

Hillion Mall as viewed from Bukit Panjang MRT Station

There are other smaller commercial buildings equipped with food courts, supermarkets, and other basic shops to meet the basic necessities of the residents. They are commonly located within HDB estates or small standalone buildings. Some of the more iconic buildings include Junction 10 located along Woodlands Road, Fajar Shopping Centre located along Fajar Road, Greenridge Shopping Centre located along Jelapang Road, and the Bukit Panjang Town Centre located along Bangkit Road.

Within the neighbourhood consists of two hawker centres; the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market and the Senja Hawker Centre, which is currently under construction, and set to open in 2022.[6]

A healthcare facility located along Senja Road was open on 2 October 2021 to house the Bukit Panjang Polyclinic and the Senja Care Home where it brought more accessible healthcare facilities to residents of Bukit Panjang.[7]

The area is expected to be rejuvenated following the recent launch of new condominium projects including Phoenix Residence, The Arden,[8] Dairy Farm Residence and Midwood Residence.

The neighbourhood has two major parks, the Bukit Panjang Park and Zhenghua Park. Bukit Panjang Park is located right across from Bukit Panjang Plaza and wraps around Pang Sua Pond, a man-made floating wetland. Zhenghua Park, located in the eastern part of Bukit Panjang, consists of a fitness area, gazebos, playgrounds, and a 2.5-kilometre cycling and jogging track that runs parallel to the Bukit Timah Expressway. The parks are connected via park connectors, which are used for cycling and jogging.

Education

Bukit Panjang has both primary and secondary schools within the neighbourhood,[9] as well as other private institutions.

Primary schools

  • Beacon Primary School
  • Bukit Panjang Primary School
  • CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace
  • Greenridge Primary School
  • West Spring Primary School
  • West View Primary School
  • Zhenghua Primary School

Secondary schools

Private institutions

Transportation

The interior of Bukit Panjang MRT station.

Roads

Bukit Panjang is adjacent to two of Singapore's major highways, the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Kranji Expressway (KJE), and is a quick gateway to and from other towns. As such, many drivers coming from the western parts of Singapore make use of Bukit Panjang's major roads, such as Bukit Panjang Road, as one of the ways to access the BKE, and, subsequently, the KJE. There is a slip road branching off of Senja Road, connecting to the KJE. This slip road will be upgraded to a vehicular interchange by 2022.[10]

Bukit Panjang also has a ring road running through the various parts of Bukit Panjang, the Bukit Panjang Ring Road. It acts as a feeder to the main arterial roads in the town.

Bus

The public bus system is predominantly run by SMRT Buses. Of the SMRT buses based in Bukit Panjang, some are smaller feeder bus services that serve the various areas of the neighbourhood, while the rest are long-distance trunk services that serve as a mode of transport to other towns and to the city centre.

Rail

Bukit Panjang LRT station with a condominium and HDB flats in the background.

The driverless and fully automated Bukit Panjang LRT line was completed on 11 June 1999 at a cost of S$285 million.[11] The rail line was intended to serve the growing town and act as a replacement to the many buses employed through the town, especially during rush hours. Originally opening with 14 stations, Ten Mile Junction station permanently closed in 2019 after sighting low ridership, bringing the number to 13.

Several petitions were presented by the residents of Bukit Panjang protesting the decision by SMRT to replace the buses in Bukit Panjang with the LRT system. Some of the complaints were related to the fact that people preferred the previous bus system that covered most parts of the Bukit Panjang neighbourhoods such as bus service 190 and 972. The previous bus system was viewed as more efficient because it had many bus stops within walking distance; the LRT system has only 13 stations that are spaced hundreds of meters apart.

The LRT system is expected to go through a major upgrading programme that is due to be completed by 2024. The programme will bring about a new signalling system, better condition monitoring, new power rails system and 19 new light rail vehicles.[12]

The Bukit Panjang MRT station on the Downtown line opened on 27 December 2015. It provides Bukit Panjang residents with direct train access to the Downtown Core.

Politics

Bukit Panjang is politically divided into two constituencies, namely the Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency and the Cashew and Zhenghua wards of the Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency.

Bukit Panjang SMC mainly consists of the Pending, Bangkit and Fajar areas. Its Member of Parliament is Liang Eng Hwa.

Senja, Segar, and Jelapang are located in Zhenghua ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC where its Member of Parliament is Edward Chia. Petir, Gangsa and Chestnut areas belong to the Cashew division of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with its Member of Parliament being Vivian Balakrishnan.

References

  • Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "Bukit Panjang (Planning Area, Singapore) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b HDB Key Statistics FY 2014/2015 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b "Statistics Singapore - Geographic Distribution - 2018 Latest Data". Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. ^ elevationmap.net. "Bukit Panjang New Town Singapore on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of Bukit Panjang New Town Singapore". elevationmap.net. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. ^ "May 2016 Sales Launch- A Flat for Every Budget and Need". My Nice Home. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. ^ "New Bukit Panjang hawker centre design unveiled; construction to begin this year: NEA". CNA. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. ^ "New Bukit Panjang Polyclinic has dental, women's and children's health services". The Straits Times. 2 October 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  8. ^ The Arden (25 February 2022). "2022's new boutique condominium to be launched in Bukit Panjang". The Arden.
  9. ^ "School Information Service (SIS)". sis.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  10. ^ "LTA | Upcoming Projects | Road & Commuter Facilities | Senja/KJE Interchange". www.lta.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Built at a cost of $285 million, Bukit Panjang LRT may be scrapped – The Independent News". 7 October 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  12. ^ "LTA | Upcoming Projects | System Renewal | Upgrading the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT)". www.lta.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 September 2020.

External links

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