Monday September 11, 2:17 PM
Smooth traffic flow around Suntec Singapore despite IMF/WB meetings
It was a smooth traffic flow that greeted motorists and those heading to the Suntec and Marina areas on Monday morning - the first day of road closures for the IMF/World Bank annual meetings held at Suntec Singapore.
Nicoll Highway, Raffles Boulevard and Temasek Boulevard - the roads around the conference venue - were closed to traffic from Sunday night for security reasons.
But to the surprise of many, the traffic was even lighter than the usual peak hour traffic in and around the Suntec vicinity on Monday morning.
One possible reason - many could have chosen to take public transport to work instead although there were pockets of congestion along Beach Road heading towards Bras Basah Road.
More than 100 Traffic Police officers have been deployed on the roads per shift daily during this 10-day period as Singapore plays host to the annual meetings.
Supt Philip Mah, Head, Operations and Training, Traffic Police, said: "We hope motorists will become more familiar with the traffic schemes. Those coming to work, coming to city for shopping, they will understand what the road situation is like. For those who have chosen not to drive, and take public transport, this will help reduce traffic on the road. But it's still early days yet, we are keeping our fingers crossed and we hope people will cooperate with us." - CNA/ch