Bukit Panjang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| English | Bukit Panjang |
| Chinese | 武吉班让 |
| (Pinyin | Wǔjíbānràng) |
| Malay | Bukit Panjang |
| Tamil | பக்கிட் பஞ்சாங்எல் |
Bukit Panjang is a suburban area situated in the Central North-Western part of Singapore. The Bukit Panjang Planning Area, located in the West Region, encompasses the Housing Development Board's housing estate of Bukit Panjang New Town and the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
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[edit] Etymology
Bukit in the Malay Language means "hill" and Panjang means "long". Bukit Panjang literally means "long hill" which gets its name from the long range of low 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 (正华), along with Yishun (义顺) for Nee Soon, and Zhujiao market for tek kha (竹脚) market in Kandang Kerbau. The trading of old dialect names which have gained common currency for unfamiliar, Mandarin ones was 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 as well as the Zhenghua Park.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Political history
Bukit Panjang is politically divided into three constituencies. The central area of Bukit Panjang is in Bukit Panjang Single Member Constituency whose Member of Parliament is Teo Ho Pin who is the mayor for Northwest Community Development Council. The other two constituencies are enclosed in the Holland-Bukit Timah Group Representation Constituency. This includes Senja, a part of Jelapang, Segar, Gangsa and a portion of Petir. Senja, Segar and Jelapang are located in Zhenghua constituency of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC whose Member of Parliament is Liang Eng Hwa with Gangsa and the remaining portion of Petir belonging to Cashew division of Holland-Bukit Timah GRC with its Member of Parliament being the Community Development, Youth and Sports minister Dr.Vivian Balakrishnan.
[edit] Transport
In addition of Bukit Panjang MRT/LRT Station, the Bukit Panjang Interchange, also near that station, is of moderate size and wholly used by SMRT Buses, part of SMRT Corporation.
- Feeder services
- 920 - serving Senja Road, Jelapang Road and Bangkit Road
- 922 - serving Bukit Panjang Ring Road, Jelapang Road and Segar Road
- Trunk services
- 75 - to Marina Centre Bus Terminal, via Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Holland Road, Great World City , Robinson Road.
- 176 - to Bukit Merah Bus Interchange, via Hillview, Bukit Batok MRT Station, West Coast Road, Telok Blangah Road
- 177 - to Bukit Batok Bus Interchange, serves the Ministry of Defence headquarters in Bukit Gombak
- 180 - to Boon Lay Bus Interchange, via Bukit Batok Road, Chinese Garden MRT Station, Lakeside MRT Station
- 184 - to Clementi MRT Station, via Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Timah, Ngee Ann Polytechnic
- 700 - to Shenton Way Bus Terminal, via Orchard Road, Nicoll Highway
- 700A - to Suntec City, via Orchard Road
- 970 - to Shenton Way Bus Terminal, via Sixth Avenue, Great World City, Chinatown
- 975 - to Lim Chu Kang Bus Terminal, via Choa Chu Kang, Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Lim Chu Kang
In addition, the following bus services pass through parts of Bukit Panjang:
- SMRT Buses
- 67 (Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange-Tampines Bus Interchange)
- 171 (Yishun Bus Interchange-Marina Centre Bus Terminal)
- 178 (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-Boon Lay Bus Interchange)
- 187 (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-Boon Lay Bus Interchange)
- 190 (Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange-New Bridge Road Bus Terminal)
- 960 (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-Marina Centre Bus Terminal)
- 961/961C (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-Geylang Lorong 1 Bus Terminal)
- 963/963E (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-HarbourFront Bus Interchange)
- 966 (Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange-Marine Parade)
- NR3 (Choa Chu Kang Bus Interchange- North Canal Road)a Night Rider service, only running on late nights of Fridays, Saturdays and public holiday eves)
[edit] References
- Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names, Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1
[edit] External links
- Zhenghua Park (owned by the National Parks Board of Singapore)
- SMRT Trains (Bukit Panjang LRT)
- Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council
