Need a lift? Cleaner, 63, climbs 132 steps on overhead bridge to get to work daily
He hopes the authorities can build lifts at the bridge for elderly people
Every day on his way to work, he has to spend 20 minutes walking up and down an overhead bridge in Bedok.
Lim, a 63-year-old cleaner, lives at Blk 615 Bedok Reservoir Road, and works at the factory opposite the bridge.
He told Shin Min Daily News that he’s been climbing that bridge since his younger days. But it’s gotten much more laborious now with his advancing years.
“Now that I have osteoporosis, it takes a lot of effort to climb up and down the stairs. Though it takes around 20 minutes for me to cross the bridge, I have to do it for a living.”
Lim hopes the authorities can build lifts at the bridge for elderly people with impaired movement like him.
When Shin Min reporters headed down to the bridge, which overlooked the PIE between Blk 613 Bedok Reservoir Road and Chai Chee Lane’s industrial area, they counted a total of 132 steps to get from one side to the other – akin to climbing six floors.
Another cleaner in her 60s, Ho, works at the same factory and has to trek over the same bridge daily.
“I’m still well enough to climb, but what about older people?” she said.
A younger resident, Song, 33, said he treats climbing the stairs as a form of “exercise” but agrees that climbing it would be difficult for the elderly.
As the bridge overlooks the expressway, Shin Min observed that avoiding the bridge would mean having to take a bus to get to Chai Chee Lane.
The bus journey, including waiting time, could take almost an hour, some residents said.
A Land Transport Authority (LTA) spokesperson said they are evaluating if building a lift there is possible. In the meantime, they have already constructed slopes on the bridge for bicycles and wheelchair users.
The spokesperson explained that it is costly to build lifts for overhead bridges. Therefore, they prioritise them for locations where there are more elderly people and those with impaired movement, such as areas near hospitals.
The agency highlighted that they have already installed lifts at 83 pedestrian overhead bridges, and another 24 will be completed by 2025.
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