Saw the recent news on papers. SMRT rolling out a series of new and exciting plans with a Big Bang. Indeed a very big and destructive one. Improving bus services, shortening the waiting time etc is all fine to me BUT NEVER to air-conditioning major bus interchanges. It's just stupid and impractical.
Look at Toa Payoh interchange for instance. Yes, it looks more pristine and high-class. More comfortable? I'm skeptical about it. How long would people wait in the queue to enjoy the air-con in the bus interchange. If pple have to wait for more than 20mins for a bus, tt's really something wrong with the service. So WHY the need to air-con an interchange for such a temporal use by the majority? It's more relevant for the bus-drivers' lounge.
Higher operating cost, high energy consumption, all the waste gases from the engines getting into the air-conditioned enclosed area, Extra devices needed to extract all these gases, higher chances of air-borne disease transmission...the list can go on and on. People are getting more and more detached from the natural environment, losing the sense of sensitivity of nature. Bus-aircon, MRT-aircon, underground passage-aircon, office-aircon, food court-aircon, and the same for the way back home, and reach home, switch on air-con. This is CRAZY!
Bedok Interchange, Jurong East INterchange, all have its sense of place and is well-designed for great natural ventilation though it might pose some problems during heavy rain. But do we always want to be trapped in a fish tank and watching the rain from inside?
Clementi Interchange is gone, together with the fountain which came with the birth of that town. Ang Mo Kio interchange too. I can't even remember how Toa Payoh Interchange used to look like. I liked the present temporary Clementi Interchange, it's quite tropical, cooling and bright!
Can't help it. It's all about "hub". We all have to move on and ahead. But is there a more sensitive way to deal with it and NOT just about destroying and building anew. National Library and our National Theatre, went into history.
*Perturbed*
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