‘Hundred Acre Wood’-inspired Bidadari Park opens, includes recreational lake that mitigates flood risk

SINGAPORE: A 13ha-park within the Bidadari estate opened to the public on Tuesday (Sep 3).
Bounded by Bidadari Park Drive, Bartley Walk and Upper Aljunied Road and Sang Nila Utama Road, the park’s closest MRT stations are Bartley MRT and Woodleigh MRT, which is located opposite Alkaff Lake.
The new park was inspired by the Hundred Acre Wood from children’s classic Winnie the Pooh and builds on the area’s original wooded and rustic nature.
Taking up more than 10 per cent of Bidadari estate land, the park spans more than 18 football fields, with a 5.2km network of trails running through greenery. 
It also features a 1.8ha lake, dubbed by the authorities as the first-of-its-kind, as it serves both recreational and flood-management purposes.
Opening the park on Tuesday, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee noted that the former Bidadari cemetery was exhumed in the early 2000s for future housing.
“While waiting for its future use, the area became green over time and nature settled in. So when developing this Bidadari estate, special attention was paid to integrate green spaces within the estate. And there was already a lot of existing greenery, and some of the trees here pre-date the estate by many, many years,” Mr Lee said.
The minister added that greenery was a key focus of the estate’s masterplan. 
Bidadari was unveiled as a new housing area in 2013. Comprising four districts, the precinct has 12 Build-to-Order (BTO) developments.
Currently, a total of 6,771 flats have been completed, making up more than 75 per cent of the 8,872 flats in the estate. The remaining flats are expected to be completed by next year. 
BIdadari Park was a joint effort by Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB), National Parks Board (NParks), national water agency PUB and National Heritage Board.
Mr Wan Khin Wai, the chief architect and director of design development under HDB told the media that Bidadari Park was the biggest public park that HDB had developed in conjunction with the other agencies. 
“In the planning and design of the park, we have actively engaged the Nature Society (Singapore) to help us gain a deeper understanding of the natural terrain and the rich biodiversity of the area. With this information, we have actually used these qualities and features to design our park spaces to serve the needs of residents.” 
Residents at two new BTO developments, Woodleigh Glen and Woodleigh Hillside, will be able to enjoy an extension of the park, known as the hillock, situated in between both housing areas. The hillock will be connected to the main park area via a land bridge across Bidadari Park Drive. 
The bridge, about 100m in length and 19m wide, is flanked by verdant flora on both sides, with a collection of flowering shrubs and trees planted to create a conducive environment for butterflies and birds. 
A 1.6km “green spine” known as Bidadari Greenway will pass by the park and traverse the full length of the estate, connecting Bartley Road to Upper Serangoon Road. 
A stone’s throw from the park’s sole car park – accessible from Sang Nila Utama Road – stands a 5m-tall tree house playground termed the Adventure Playwoods.
Features of the playground include climbing nets, slides of varying heights, an observation pod resembling a bird’s nest and a zip line.
The 4,500 sq m nature play garden is inspired by the open woodlands and rich bird life in Bidadari, the agencies said in a media factsheet.
HDB’s Mr Wan said the authorities looked at how to enhance the forest areas within the park to provide nature trails and naturalistic playgrounds for children and the public to enjoy the wilderness. 
Near the play area, two lawns – the Tembusu Lawn and Open Lawn – provide spaces for events and community activities. Lounge chairs at Tembusu Lawn provide families with a place to rest while they wait for their children.
 
A short walk from Tembusu Lawn, two marshlands portray how nature is used to manage floods.
The upper marshland only forms temporarily after heavy rain and provides essential habitats to amphibians, insects and water dependent birds.
The lower marshland is permanent and is a habitat for aquatic species all year round. 
During the rainy season, rainwater that collects at the upper marshland flows through the lower marshland and eventually into the Ficus Stream – a swale or hollow area – just before Adventure Playwoods. 
Water from the stream will then flow across Sang Nila Utama Boulevard before cascading into Alkaff Lake. 
Those visiting the lower marshland can amble through the boardwalk, an elevated platform above the water, and rest at the observation deck and pavilion that is designed to resemble a bird nest. 
Bird watchers may also look forward to a 20m-tall raptor nest platform, which provides an additional perch and nesting site for raptors such as the white-bellied sea eagle. The structure is the first and only in Singapore’s parks and will be a permanent feature to complement the surrounding vegetation. 
Bidadari was discovered in the early 2000s as a haven for birds, particularly as a stopover site for migratory land birds, noted the authorities. The park was designed to continue to serve as a site for these birds, with common species, such as the yellow-rumped flycatcher and tiger shrike expected to visit. 
Alkaff Lake, which occupies a 1.8ha space within the park, is a recreational zone which also protects the estate from floods. 
During rainy weather, the lake acts as a stormwater retention pond, collecting water that runs off from half of Bidadari estate. Water is diverted to Alkaff Lake as it is the lower point in the area. 
The lake can hold up to 40,000 cubic metres of water, the equivalent of 16 Olympic-sized swimming pools. 
By capturing the rainwater, the lake slows down the amount flowing into downstream drainage systems and mitigates the risk of flooding in the estate. 
Inspired by the Kallang River at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, where a concrete canal was transformed into a scenic waterway, Alkaff Lake is an alternative to building bigger drains, which may not be practical in land-scarce Singapore. 
PUB pointed out that the drain downstream from Alkaff Lake at Happy Avenue cannot be widened due to houses flanking its sides. 
Water that goes through the Happy Avenue outlet drain discharges to Pelton Canal, one of the major waterways leading to the Kallang River.
During dry weather, when the water level of the lake remains between 1m and 1.5m, visitors are able to stroll down foot paths near to and encircling the lake. However, during a heavy storm, the water level could rise up to 4m and submerge the foot paths closest to the lake. 
To prevent visitors from being on the foot paths when this happens, a warning system has been installed, with automatic sensors that monitor the water level. 
The sensors – which activate before the water level reaches 2m – will trigger the warning system before the water rises to the footpath. 
The warning system comprises beacon lights and audio broadcasts in four languages to warn members of the public to move away from the lake and behind red safety markers located around the water body. 
It takes about one-and-a-half hours of intense, extreme rainfall for the water level to reach 4m. 
Stormwater is released through Alkaff Lake’s two outlet points before it returns to normal levels. 
A heritage walk located next to Alkaff Lake will detail Bidadari’s past through a series of storyboards.
Part of the heritage walk is on the former Upper Aljunied Road, which has been pedestrianised and renamed Sang Nila Utama Boulevard. 
Only a portion of the walk is open to the public, while the remaining portion will be progressively completed from the fourth quarter of this year. A memorial garden across Sang Nila Utama Road from the main park is estimated to be finished by the first half of next year. 
The original Bidadari Memorial Garden was located along Mount Vernon Road and commemorated the history of Bidadari Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in Singapore.
Artefacts and structures from the original memorial garden will be integrated into the new site at the eastern end of Bidadari Park, which will retain sections of the original cemetery. 
Mr Lee said that the commemorative space will allow visitors to “explore the Christian, Muslim, and Hindu sections of Bidadari Cemetery, and will include the old gates and the gateposts of the cemetery”.