![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rfmcdonaldCityLab's Steve Mollman describes how Singapore is set to build its own, island-wide, equivalent to New York City's High Line.
The success of the High Line in Manhattan certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed internationally. Since the High Line’s first phase opened in 2009, tourists and locals alike have flocked to the iconic park, built atop an elevated railroad spur that had fallen out of use.
Now, Singapore is creating its own version. And while the High Line runs for 2.33 km (1.45 miles), Singapore’s new park will be about 10 times longer at 24 km.
It will run along the route of the former Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway line, which was built in the British colonial period to transport tin, rubber, and other resources from the Malay Peninsula to the Singapore port. When Malaysia and Singapore separated in the mid-1960s, they agreed the railway would remain under Malaysian control. Thanks to an agreement reached in 2010, Singapore gained control of the largely neglected corridor.
The park’s winning master plan was announced in November and creates a seamless space for walking, jogging, and cycling. The Japanese architectural firm Nikken Sekkei designed the winning bid in collaboration with local landscape design firm Tierra Design, as well as with engineering and project management company Arup Singapore.
The city will be accepting public feedback on the plan in the months ahead, while the winning team carries out the preliminary design and feasibility study of an initial 4 km stretch. The proposal calls for over 120 access points, and includes 21 platforms with toilets and rest areas.
