smallwheelsbigsmile: Sporthub

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Dear Singapore Sports Hub.....please don't forget the cycling community.

On 21 Aug 2014, someone posted this picture on Facebook:

“Anybody knows where i can park my bike in sports hub? I cycle to work everyday and have been parking on the basement for the past 3 weeks without any issue then suddenly issued me a warning ticket. I don't see any bike parking lots outside the establishment”

The person added this photo of the warning ticket:

Taken from Lovecyclingsg Face book page

Let’s have a look at the Singapore Sports Hub’s website to see if they have any information about arriving there by bicycle and the parking of bicycles. A quick look at the Singapore Sports Hub’s webpage, “Getting Here”, revealed that there are many ways to get there. But I was very sad to discover that cycling isn’t one of them.

Taken from Sporthub webpage

In its webpage entitled “Sports Hub Project”, the Singapore Sports Hub dedicates itself as a public facility to promote sports to all:

“Come June 2014, it will serve as a dedicated venue where Singaporeans can come together as a community to watch, play and support sports and entertainment.

The Singapore Sports Hub will be a fully integrated, state-of-the-art destination that will be open year-round to the public and will provide a variety of unique experiences, including community programming, Experience Sports initiatives and public facilities for everyday use.

Targeting all demographics – from elite athletes to the general public – the Singapore Sports Hub campus will ultimately be a space where Singaporeans can experience sports and entertainment.”

The sport of cycling has an extremely low carbon footprint, does not contribute to traffic jams, and provides a good means of exercise. Commuting by bicycle is also increasingly popular for many who live in Singapore. So, why wouldn’t a venue like the Singapore Sports Hub support this healthy and sustainable mode of transport by providing parking for bicycles?

Currently housing the world’s largest dome-shaped structure, the Singapore Sports Hub costs S$1.3-billion[1] and sits on 35 hectares (86.4 acres) of land[2]. Surely, cost and space could not have been the reasons why bicycle parking fixtures were omitted. So why aren’t there any legal places to park a bicycle within our glorious, world-class Sports Hub?

Speaking of parking, check out the FAQ on getting to the Singapore Sport Hub; more than two-thirds of the FAQ is dedicated to paid parking for cars. I wonder why.