SINGAPORE - Elderly residents in Bukit Merah View can now stroll around with greater ease of mind due to enhanced road safety measures.

The estate is the first of five to benefit from the Land Transport Authority's Silver Zone programme, which aims to make roads safer for elderly pedestrians.

Features like enlarged centre dividers that allow for two-stage crossing are introduced. The speed limit in such zones has also been reduced to 40kmh wherever possible.

Cars entering Silver Zones will see signs informing them of such zones, along with three rumble strips on the road to inform motorists to slow down.

Other traffic features aimed at slowing down traffic, like chicanes - gentle curves along sections of roads - and lanes with reduced width have also been installed to ensure that cars do not speed along roads with high senior use.

Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Health Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said at the launch event on Saturday that seniors are "over-represented" in traffic accidents, and that the situation must be improved. He noted that 40 per cent of all pedestrian fatalities and 20 per cent of pedestrian injuries involved seniors.

Dr Faishal, however, cautioned that road safety does not end with these silver zones and that road safety is the "shared responsibility" of all road users.

The Silver Zones in Jurong West, Yishun and Bedok will be completed by the first quarter of 2015, and Marine Parade by first quarter of 2016.

The five estates were chosen for their high senior population and relatively higher accident rates involving seniors.

lesterh@sph.com.sg

yeosamjo@sph.com.sg