Woodlands, or the
Woodlands New Town (Chinese: , Pinyin: Wùlán Xīnzhèn; ), is a suburban town in northern
Singapore
, part of the North West Community
Development Council (Northwest CDC)
district. The town should not be confused the Woodlands
constituency within the
Woodlands New Town in the
Sembawang
Group Representation Constituency (
GRC).
Woodlands
is adjacent to Sembawang New Town and Sungai
Kadut Industrial Estate, and
is connected to Malaysia
's
southernmost city, Johor
Bahru
, by the Johor-Singapore Causeway
; Woodlands is also connected to Yishun via Gambas Avenue and Senoko Industrial Park via Woodlands Avenue
10.
Woodlands
has one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore. It is also home to the Singapore Sports
School
, Republic Polytechnic
and Innova Junior College
.
History
When
Singapore was established as a trading port in 1823, Woodlands
connected the Malayan Peninsular to the natural port in Singapore,
and historically connecting the 2 states in 1924 via the Johor-Singapore
Causeway.
A town in
development, Woodlands is quite an ever-changing town, with its
distinct style, apart from the hectic lifestyle familiar in
downtown and older parts of Singapore. From the beginning of development during
the 1970s to expand
Marsiling, Woodlands
has grown into a huge neighbourhood, home to the many different
people from all walks of life.
Woodlands is strategically situated between
Malaysia and Singapore, connecting to the Malaysian city of Johor Bahru, via the Causeway
.
Woodlands
is one of the essence of early development successes in Singapore, becoming today's model for future transportation, entertainment, leisure
and education developments within an
estate.
Woodlands is a town with different features. Developments are
concentrated in the central, southern and eastern portion of the
estate, leaving a countryside lifestyle of fresh air, serenity and
the privilege of being surrounded by trees in the northern
portion.
Large open spaces, grasslands, parks, recreational facilities and
communal gardens are found nearly everywhere in Woodlands. Most of
the housing apartment blocks are interconnected, providing
sheltered pavements throughout an entire division within an estate.
Nonetheless, several larger parks are packed within estates and are
escapes to the urban lifestyle. Rich diversity of natural habitats
and pleasant environments, these parks are often scenic, though
man-made. Woodlands has preserved one that has served for quite
some time, the
Woodlands Town Garden.
Neighbourhoods
There are 3 constituencies in the town, and 9 neighbourhoods (N1 to
N9) within the Woodlands
vicinity; made up
primarily by Woodlands,
Marsiling,
Woodgrove and
Admiralty, each with their
own different traits. Most of the neighbourhoods are centralised or
aligned along their respective neighbourhood centres, where most of
the commercial activities are conducted, other than the town
centre,
Woodlands
Square.
| Name of Neighbourhood |
Location |
Commercial Areas |
Accessibility |
| Woodlands |
Centre, Northeast, Northwest and West of Woodlands
Town |
Woodlands Square (Centre and Town), Vista Point (Northeast),
Sembawang Town Council (West) |
Via
MRT
at Woodlands MRT
Station ; Via Bus at Woodlands
Regional Bus Interchange |
| Marsiling |
West and Southwest of Woodlands Square |
Woodlands Checkpoint and Woodlands Town Centre |
Via MRT at Marsiling MRT
Station, Checkpoint Terminal |
| Woodgrove |
South from Woodlands Square |
The Woodgrove |
Via Bus from Woodlands
Regional Bus Interchange |
| Admiralty |
East from Woodlands Square |
Admiralty Place |
Via MRT at Admiralty MRT
Station, Via Bus from Woodlands Regional Bus
Interchange |
Woodlands
Woodlands is also the name of the primary estate
of the
town, containing most of the commercial
activities, such as
Woodlands Square, the
commercial hub of the town, consists of buildings and services of
high standard.
Built on a hill, Woodlands Square consists
of a large hectare of grassland, houses the gala events or
celebrations at different time of a year; a large mall, Causeway
Point
, overseeing the Woodlands MRT Station and the Woodlands
Civic Centre.
There are
wide ranges of housing apartment blocks, some of which are the
finest architectures in Singapore. Woodlands is highly accessible, compared to
the other estates in the town. Feeder bus routes run within the
estate. Large
avenues allow a
seamless flow of traffic. Woodlands is highly urbanised, however,
at times permitting, buildings were built a distance away from
heavy-utilised roads.
That is quite a distinctive style of
post-independence Singapore. Buildings are phased closely together,
developing in a carefully planned pattern.
Marsiling
Woodlands is increasingly
an avenue for foreign Asians to the inner urban estates of Singapore. Marsiling presents the past day living
patterns of Singapore; a quieter and much denser estate, often offer a
rather reasonable and larger alternative to housing options, and
house a large quantity of elder citizens and heavy-duty
industries.
Marsiling
is a large estate compared to Woodlands, which extended from north
of Woodlands Square to the Woodlands
Checkpoint, bordering Malaysia.
A redevelopment plan of upgrading existing housing apartment blocks
were introduced in late 90s, and thereafter a surge in housing
prices that come along with a refurbished elevator serving every
single storeys of the apartment block; larger apartments per
household (a new room is added at the rear of each apartment) and
of course, modernised to meet the standard of the local housing
environment. Refer to
Modernising
Environment. Marsiling is situated next to the
Marsiling Industrial Estate; Marsiling have shown
an increasing community of foreign expatriates in recent
years.
See Main Upgrading
Programme for more details on upgrading existing housing
apartment blocks.
Admiralty & Woodgrove
Admiralty is kept abreast of contemporary housing in the town.
Citizens
enjoy the convenience of a transit station, Admiralty MRT Station,
similar to that of Woodlands MRT Station, built solely for the SMRT train fleets. Admiralty offers
a rather reasonable quiet and organised housing, with well-designed
apartments. Admiralty houses citizens who opt for government
housing through the
Housing and Development
Board's plans, instead of purchasing apartments via private
agencies, which often costs more however require a shorter waiting
time; opting for government housing often takes months to process
and only for newly built housing flats.
Admiralty is connected to
Sembawang and
Yishun via
Gambas Avenue; the Woodlands
Industrial Park and Senoko Industrial Park via
Woodlands Avenue 10; Woodlands
Estate via
Woodlands
Avenue 7; Marsiling Estate via
Woodlands Square and
Woodlands Avenue 3; Expressway
via Woodlands Avenue 12.
In contrast to the other estates, Woodgrove is the smallest in
size, located towards the north-west-end of the town. Woodgrove
houses most of the private housing in Woodlands, consisting of
high-rise condominiums and landed properties. Woodgrove lies in
between the estates of
Marsiling and
Woodlands.
Infrastructure
Woodlands is diverse during the day and well-lit in the night.
Shops, eateries and commercial zones are evenly spread through the
town, with bus and transit routes operating till close to
midnight.
Divisions within estates are being rapidly modernised and modelled
for the standard of Singapore; playgrounds, communal gardens,
sheltered pavements, multi-level parking lots, barbecue-pits,
recreational facilities (such as tennis courts) and trees are found
nearly everywhere.
With the modernising process outpacing the preservation of the
past, Woodlands Town Garden keeps a clear and simple agenda, to
bring greenery in the right ambience with the mixture of the local
ethnicity. The theme of park revolves around the Malay and Chinese
culture, and winding through the park is Sungei Mandai Kechil, the
river that extends into a lake within the park. Woodlands Town
Garden is located near to the Woodlands Customs, in the Marsiling
estate. To the east of this area, bordering the polytechnic is
Admiralty Park, a 27 hectare national
park much of which is covered in
mangrove.
Woodlands
Regional Library
, the largest neighbourhood library in Singapore at
the time of launch, is operated by the National Library Board. The 4
storeys public library caters to all ages. Different storeys of the
library are categorised according to themes of general, reference,
teens and children.
Causeway
Point, one of the largest shopping malls in Singapore,
houses 250 shops and various outlets. Woodlands Civic Centre
is a designated centre of education, public services and other
forms of assistance for residents.
The centre houses the Woodlands
Regional Library, several banks, CPF Woodlands
Branch, numerous merchandise and educational
institutions.
Sport is an emerging emphasis in the Singaporean society. Sporting
facilities can be easily located around the estates and especially
in parks. The
multi-purpose
stadium, the Woodlands Stadium and Woodlands Swimming Complex
are common places for sport-goers.
Experimental style of architecture found their ways into Woodlands,
making the town a place of wonders and colours, with much
integration with sport. From the early practical designs to the
modern day exquisite luxury, housing apartment blocks are no longer
as plain as it sounds; with the garnish of parks, communal gardens
and décors, these blocks were pieces of art and style themselves.
The centrepiece of the town, Woodlands Square, attracts a constant
flow of travellers and shoppers daily. Tireless planning and
redevelopment keeps the town modernised.
Education
Educational institutions are evenly distributed throughout the
estate. From newly founded schools to full-fledged ones, Woodlands
has several top educational institutions in the Northern region.
Schools in Woodlands are allocated into the N5 and N7
clusters.
Singapore's first sport school, Singapore
Sports School, is an independent boarding school with some of the
finest sport facilities, and is located in Woodlands Avenue
2.
Singapore's fifth polytechnic, Republic
Polytechnic, is situated in Woodlands Avenue 9.
Innova Junior
College is situated at 21 Champions Way, next to
Woodlands Avenue
2.
Accessibility
Woodlands
is highly accessible, connected by major roads and expressways, with a
relatively large underground bus interchange - the Woodlands
Regional Bus Interchange and an elevated MRT station next to Causeway Point
at Woodlands
Square. Most of the bus routes are operated by
SMRT Buses, while
SMRT Trains operate the MRT stations.
Residents
of Woodlands are serviced by 3 MRT stations, at the centre
of the suburb, Woodlands
MRT Station; north of the suburb, Marsiling
MRT Station
and Southeast of the suburb, Admiralty
MRT Station
. The regional bus interchange was relocated
from the previous Town Centre,
Woodlands Town
Centre, to the current town centre at
Woodlands Square.
Land transportation in Woodlands is relatively efficient, with
comparison to other estates, contrasting by the amount of
well-maintained roads, though a common sight in Singapore. 12
avenues supports and circulates the entire traffic within the town,
especially
Avenue 2,
5,
7,
9,
10 and 12. Avenue 2 is a
shorter route from the older estates of the town to the
Bukit Timah Expressway.
Avenue 3 connects Marsiling
from the exit of Bukit Timah
Expressway branching into Woodlands Centre Road, the
sole road to the checkpoint of Woodlands Customs, and the rest of
Avenue 3 maintains a similar route of the MRT line from Marsiling
MRT Station to Woodlands MRT Station, which connects to Woodlands Square.
As the
avenue ends at the entrance of the slope of Woodlands Square (the
road that circulates Woodlands Square), another end starts the
Woodlands Avenue 7, which connects Woodlands to Admiralty, also the
route of the MRT line from Woodlands MRT Station to Admiralty
MRT Station.Divisions within estates
are further connected and regulated by 2 or single lane roads
called Streets, which are distinguished by a suffix of double-digit
numbers, such as Woodlands Street
82 and Woodlands
Street
83. This is a common practice before the
late 90s. Drives are 2 or single lane roads, which are built for
newer divisions within an estate, similar to that of the
streets.
Links and
Crescents are often 3,
2 or single lane roads that convey commuters from a main road to
another main road, such as the
Woodlands Link, which connects
Woodlands Avenue 9 to
the main roads in the Woodlands Industrial Park.
Crescents connect main roads to streets or
drives.
See also
References
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