“Ouch-ard” Road Makeover?

I feel that the 40 million dollars makeover of Orchard Road was not worth it. This is so as the changes and the process of change brought about negative impacts, and the money could have been used to tackle some other more pressing problems.

Firstly, the whole process of the Orchard Road makeover, and the outcome itself, brought about some undesirable results. Some people might argue that the 40 million dollars spent on infrastructure works alone cannot energize and enhance Orchard Road, and that this is a long-term investment. However, 40 million dollars is certainly a large amount of money, and if it brings about negative impacts, I would say that it was not worth it. For example, the unbearable noise pollution coming from the numerous construction sites of the shopping district was enough to put some shoppers off. Many areas of construction were blocked off too, and limited the shopper’s access to certain areas. The temporary structures that have been put up have also obscured small businesses from the shopping crowd, thus affecting their business. On a whole, tourists, and even the locals were extremely annoyed by the renovation process, and this inevitably affected their impression and the image of Orchard Road. The supposedly large scale revamp of Orchard Road, though costly, failed to achieve its desired outcome. Few of those surveyed along Orchard’s streets could notice the new features, and some even thought that the renovation was still in progress. From the point of view of an average Singaporean, the only improvements to the district were several glass panels with flashing lights, widened walkways, new lamp posts, and a few flower totems. For such a pricey make over, one cannot help but feel that it was unsatisfactory.

Secondly, I feel that the huge sum of money spent on the makeover should be used for other more meaningful purposes. One such area where the money can be spent is the maintenance of the place. What for built a whole range of new facilities when one has problems maintaining the current ones? Several shoppers have noted that the walkways were littered by dead leaves, and this paints a picture contrary to a “clean and green Singapore”. More could be done to clean up the walkways and maintain the place as a whole. Also, in view of the bleak economical situation that Singapore faces, would it not be wiser to spend money on solving more immediate problems such as shortage of jobs and a shrinking economy? The money used for non-vital decorations could go into the economy. After all, 40 million dollars is indeed a large sum of money. Therefore, I feel that the money could be spent in other more pressing issues.

In conclusion, I feel that the 40 million dollars make-over was not worth it in that it did not bring about immediate positive effects, but instead brought about negative ones. The money spent could also be used for other more important matters. This controversial issue leaves us thinking-Is Orchard Road really all that it is cracked up to be?