Bukit Panjang

Bukit Panjang, often abbreviated as Bt Panjang or simply BP,[lower-alpha 1] is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. The planning area is bounded by Bukit Batok to the west, Choa Chu Kang to the northwest, Sungei Kadut to the north, the Central Water Catchment to the east and Bukit Timah to the south. Bukit Panjang New Town is located at the northern portion of the planning area. Bukit Panjang has an average elevation of 36m/118 ft and a portion of this town is situated on a low-lying elongated hill.[4]

This article is about a town in Singapore. For other towns with similar or exact names in the United States, see Long Hill (disambiguation).

Bukit Panjang
Planning Area and HDB Town
Other transcription(s)
 • EnglishLong Hill
 • Chinese武吉班让
 • MalayBukit Panjang
 • Tamilபக்கிட் பஞ்சாங்
Clockwise: A busy intersection between Bukit Panjang Road and Bukit Panjang Ring Road, Senja-Cashew Community Club with HDB flats in the background, Zhenghua Community Club, Summit of Bukit Timah Hill
Location of Bukit Panjang in Singapore
Bukit Panjang
   Bukit Panjang in    Singapore
Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang (Asia)
Bukit Panjang
Bukit Panjang (Earth)
Coordinates: 1°22′51.00″N 103°45′45.00″E
Country Singapore
RegionWest Region
CDC
Town Council
  • Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council
Constituencies
Government
 • MayorNorth West CDC
 • Members of ParliamentBukit Panjang SMC

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC

Area
 • Total8.99 km2 (3.47 sq mi)
 • Residential2.19 km2 (0.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[1][2][3]
 • Total139,280
 • Density15,000/km2 (40,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Official
  • Bukit Panjang resident

Colloquial

  • Bukit Panjanger
  • Bukit Panjangian
  • Bukit Panjangite
Ethnic groups
 • Chinese103,280
 • Malays22,230
 • Indians10,300
 • Others3,210
Postal districts
21, 23
Dwelling units34,463
Projected ultimate44,000

Despite being a matured estate, Bukit Panjang is seen as a quieter town compared to some of the older housing estates such as Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and Toa Payoh and other more publicly discussed towns due to its lower population, but it has seen major developments in recent years.[5]

Etymology

Bukit in Malay means "hill" and Panjang means "long". Therefore, Bukit Panjang literally means Long Hill which gets its name from the long range of high hills which ends in Bukit Timah to the south.

At the height of the movement to change place names in Singapore to Mandarin ones using Hanyu Pinyin romanization, the new town to be built in the area was initially known as Zhenghua, after the Pinyinised version of Cheng Hwa, which was derived from the old road, Jalan Cheng Hwa.[6] The trading of old dialect names which have gained common currency for unfamiliar, Mandarin ones were not well received by the public, and Bukit Panjang was quickly reinstated. However, the name Zhenghua is preserved in the name of the flyover between Bukit Panjang Road and the Bukit Timah Expressway, in Zhenghua Park and in the Zhenghua ward of the Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Most of the roads in this town are named after old village tracks from the 1960s, namely Jelapang, Petir, Pending, Lompang, Fajar, Segar and Senja, which used to ply the area.[7]

History

Before its redevelopment as a suburban town in western Singapore, Bukit Panjang was a village that used to exist in the area. The development of the town and advanced earthworks began in 1981. Public housing flats rose up by 1985, but only Blocks 1xx and 2xx were built so far. Blocks 4xx was up and running by 1989, followed by 5xx and 6xx in 1995.

Administration

The Bukit Panjang area comes under the administrative lead of the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council, which oversees the management and maintenance of the many apartments (HDB flats) and commercial units in Bukit Panjang. Its chairman is Liang Eng Hwa.

Housing, amenities, and attractions

The town consists of a mixture of old and new blocks of flats, condominiums and private housing. To date, there are three community centers, namely Bukit Panjang Community Centre, Zhenghua Community Centre, and Senja-Cashew Community Club, which serve the entertainment, recreational, and educational needs of residents.

Bukit Panjang Plaza is one of the well-known malls in Bukit Panjang. It is located at the heart of the town and is located close to the LRT and MRT stations as well as the Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange. Located along Jelebu Road, the mall has been expanded twice throughout its existence to accommodate more shops in the building. The mall is owned by CapitaRetail which is another retail-based REIT by CapitaLand. The mall houses the Bukit Panjang Public Library and an NTUC FairPrice Finest supermarket.

Hillion Mall is another well-known mall in Bukit Panjang, located along Petir Road. It is one of the more recent commercial facilities, opening on 24 February 2017. It is part of the Bukit Panjang Integrated Transport Hub, which shares the building with the Bukit Panjang Bus Interchange, and directly links to the Bukit Panjang MRT/LRT station through an underpass and above-ground link way respectively.

There are other smaller commercial buildings equipped with food courts, supermarkets, and other basic shops to meet the basic necessities of the residents. They are commonly located within HDB estates or small standalone buildings. Some of the more iconic buildings include Junction 10 located along Woodlands Road, Fajar Shopping Centre located along Fajar Road, Greenridge Shopping Centre located along Jelapang Road, and the Bukit Panjang Town Centre located along Bangkit Road.

Within the neighbourhood consists of two hawker centres; the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market and the Senja Hawker Centre, which is currently under construction.[8]

An upcoming healthcare facility located along Senja Road is expected to house the Bukit Panjang Polyclinic and the Senja Care Home when it opens in the 2020s.[9]

The neighbourhood has two major parks, the Bukit Panjang Park and Zhenghua Park. Bukit Panjang Park is located right across from Bukit Panjang Plaza and wraps around Pang Sua Pond, a man-made floating wetland. Zhenghua Park, located in the eastern part of Bukit Panjang, consists of a fitness area, gazebos, playgrounds, and a 2.5-kilometre cycling and jogging track that runs parallel to the Bukit Timah Expressway. The parks are connected via park connectors, which are used for cycling and jogging.

Education[10]

Primary Schools
  • Beacon Primary School
  • Bukit Panjang Primary School
  • CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace
  • Greenridge Primary School
  • West Spring Primary School
  • West View Primary School
  • Zhenghua Primary School

Secondary Schools

Transportation
An HDB estate along Bukit Panjang Ring Road with the Bukit Panjang LRT.
Bukit Panjang Plaza, one of the popular malls in Bukit Panjang (other than Hillion Mall), before its second major renovation
Hillion Mall, the largest and newest shopping mall in the district
The entrance to Bukit Panjang MRT station

Roads

Bukit Panjang is adjacent to two of Singapore's major highways, the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE) and Kranji Expressway (KJE), and is a quick gateway to and from other towns. As such, many drivers coming from the western parts of Singapore make use of Bukit Panjang's major roads, such as Bukit Panjang Road, as one of the ways to access the BKE, and, subsequently, the KJE. There is a slip road branching off of Senja Road, connecting to the KJE. This slip road will be upgraded to a vehicular interchange by 2022.[11]

Bukit Panjang also has a ring road running through the various parts of Bukit Panjang, the Bukit Panjang Ring Road. It acts as a feeder to the main arterial roads in the town.

Bus

The public bus system is predominantly run by SMRT Buses. Of the SMRT buses based in Bukit Panjang, some are smaller feeder bus services that serve the various areas of the neighbourhood, while the rest are long-distance trunk services that serve as a mode of transport to other towns and to the city centre.

Mass Rapid Transit

As one of the only 3[lower-alpha 3] residential districts in Singapore so far to have its own smaller light rail system, The driverless and fully automated Bukit Panjang LRT line was completed in 1999 at a cost of S$285 million.[12] The rail line was intended to serve the growing town and act as a replacement to the many buses employed through the town, especially during rush hours. Originally opening with 14 stations, Ten Mile Junction station permanently closed in 2019 after sighting low ridership and to upgrade the existing network, bringing the number to 13.

At the time, several petitions were presented at the time by the residents of Bukit Panjang protesting the decision by SMRT to replace the buses in Bukit Panjang with the LRT system. Some of the complaints were related to the fact that people preferred the previous bus system that covered most parts of the Bukit Panjang neighbourhoods such as bus service 190 and 972. The previous bus system was viewed as more efficient because it had many bus stops within walking distance; the LRT system has only 13 stations that are spaced hundreds of meters apart.

The LRT system is expected to go through a major upgrading programme that is due to be completed by 2024. The programme will bring about a new signalling system, better condition monitoring, new power rails system and 19 new light rail vehicles.[13]

The Bukit Panjang MRT station on the Downtown line opened on 27 December 2015. It provides Bukit Panjang residents with direct train access to the Downtown Core.

Politics

Bukit Panjang is politically divided into two constituencies, namely the Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency and the Cashew and Zhenghua wards of the Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency.

Bukit Panjang SMC mainly consists of the Pending, Bangkit and Fajar areas. Its Member of Parliament is Liang Eng Hwa.

Senja, Segar, and Jelapang are located in Zhenghua ward of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC where its Member of Parliament is Edward Chia. Petir, Gangsa and Chestnut areas belong to the Cashew division of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with its Member of Parliament being Vivian Balakrishnan.

References
  • Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

Notes
  1. Also alternatively known as Cheng Hwa, Long Hill or Zhenghua
  2. Central station, with various light rail stations surrounding the district
  3. Sengkang LRT line and Punggol LRT line. The future Jurong Region MRT line that will serve the planning areas such as Boon Lay, Jurong and Tengah was originally planned as a light rail system, but was subsequently upgraded to a heavy rail system similar to the other lines on the Mass Rapid Transit network.

Footnotes
  1. "Bukit Panjang (Planning Area, Singapore) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. HDB Key Statistics FY 2014/2015 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Statistics Singapore - Geographic Distribution - 2018 Latest Data". Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  4. elevationmap.net. "Bukit Panjang New Town Singapore on the Elevation Map. Topographic Map of Bukit Panjang New Town Singapore". elevationmap.net. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. "May 2016 Sales Launch- A Flat for Every Budget and Need". My Nice Home. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. "Jalan Cheng Hwa".
  7. http://hm.onemap.sg/1969/1969%20(44).jpg
  8. "New Bukit Panjang hawker centre design unveiled; construction to begin this year: NEA". CNA. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. "New Bukit Panjang polyclinic to help ease strain". AsiaOne. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. "School Information Service (SIS)". sis.moe.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  11. "LTA | Upcoming Projects | Road & Commuter Facilities | Senja/KJE Interchange". www.lta.gov.sg. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  12. "Built at a cost of $285 million, Bukit Panjang LRT may be scrapped – The Independent News". Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  13. "LTA | Upcoming Projects | System Renewal | Upgrading the Bukit Panjang LRT (BPLRT)". www.lta.gov.sg. Retrieved 11 September 2020.


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