Living Environment

Senior-friendly living environment

To promote active ageing and help seniors move about more safely and comfortably, we will enhance the physical living environment in both HDB precincts and private residential estates. This initiative aims to make it easier and safer for seniors to engage in their daily activities.

Within HDB flats

We are expanding the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme, into EASE 2.0, which will offer a wider range of senior-friendly features. These include rocker switches, home fire alarm devices, handrails at multi-step flat entrances, foldable shower seats and widened toilet entrances for wheelchair users.

To better support low-income and vulnerable seniors who often lack family support, we will progressively expand the provision of the wireless Alert Alarm System (AAS) to all seniors aged 60 and above staying in public rental housing.

At the HDB precincts and private residential estates

We will progressively roll out senior-centric upgrading works to over 20 older precincts with a higher density of seniors in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Queenstown and Toa Payoh.

Possible enhancements include therapeutic gardens, fitness trails, barrier-free access ramps and rest points, and dementia-friendly features to improve way-finding. These upgrading initiatives will complement Healthier SG to support seniors in leading an active lifestyle and will be gradually implemented over the next 5 years.

Similar upgrading works will be carried out at selected older private residential estates, under the Estate Upgrading Programme (EUP). Additionally, we will identify and select estates with a higher concentration of seniors, including those that have benefited from EUP some time ago, for senior-friendly enhancements.

To provide more assisted living options for seniors to age in place, we will ramp up the supply of Community Care Apartments (CCAs). Seniors living in CCAs can enjoy convenient access to various amenities.

Friendly Streets

The green road markings serve to remind motorists that they are entering a “Friendly Street” and they should lower their speed and look out for pedestrians

Raised zebra crossings act as a hump to slow down vehicles. The added elevation also makes crossing pedestrians more visible to motorists

With our Friendly Streets initiative, we are also doing more to further enhance safety and convenience for residents, especially seniors, to move around their neighbourhoods, and encourage more active lifestyles.

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) target to expand the Friendly Streets initiative to all towns by 2030.

The Friendly Streets initiative was launched during MOT’s Committee of Supply this year to create more inclusive and pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods. All five pilot sites – Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Batok West, Tampines, Toa Payoh and West Coast – are near key amenities such as markets, hawker centres, community clubs, and schools, and see high pedestrian flows. Friendly Streets will include features such as barrier-free crossings, more frequent and longer Green Man activations, and traffic calming measures to slow vehicles down.

Each pilot is spearheaded by a taskforce, made up of the local Advisers, representatives from relevant government agencies, the Town Council and grassroots leaders. LTA has been working closely with the respective taskforces on the features and traffic measures to be implemented in each pilot site. We have also engaged residents and community stakeholders to share preliminary plans, and seek feedback on these plans for each location. The community welcomed the Friendly Streets in their neighbourhoods. LTA will take in the feedback received before starting construction on the pilot locations progressively from end 2023.

Building on this momentum, we are expanding the Friendly Streets initiative to cover more towns so that it would benefit more residents including seniors in the years ahead. We will take into account learning points from the pilot locations, and continue to work closely with the local communities to implement Friendly Streets in other towns.

Before and after visual of the Friendly Streets at Tampines Ave 9