Updated 25 October 2026 | Bukit Timah, Singapore. Did you know? A residential-road safety campaign in Watten and Hillcrest used time-to-main-road countdown signs to show drivers how little speeding achieves, with a planned extension to Kheam Hock and Sunset Way.
Quick answer: The original ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ campaign launched in May 2024. The Bukit Timah Town Council’s April 2025 future-plans list names Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way Estate for expansion. Its separate plans include a wider waiting space at Kheam Hock Road and Dunearn Road; the upper Kheam Hock signal is described as already installed. Exact 2027 installation dates are not confirmed in the cited publication.
Five useful facts about the Bukit Timah road-safety plans
- Original campaign: Watten and Hillcrest, launched on 6 May 2024.
- Existing signs used a simple countdown of travel time to the main road when driving lawfully.
- Proposed extension: Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way Estate.
- Separate projects: an already installed upper Kheam Hock signal and a planned wider waiting space near Dunearn Road.
- 2027: check actual signage and roadwork notices rather than assuming the proposal is fully installed.
What is happening from 2024 to 2027?
| Date | Public status |
|---|---|
| 6 May 2024 | Be Kind, Drive Safe launched in Watten and Hillcrest. |
| April 2025 | Town Council listed the expansion to Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way Estate. |
| By April 2025 | The Town Council reported a traffic signal installed at the upper end of Kheam Hock Road. |
| April 2025 | Wider waiting space at Kheam Hock Road / Dunearn Road was named as a separate future plan. |
| 2026 | The 2025 proposals remain useful reference points, but not a verified completed 2027 works schedule. |
| During 2027 | Check new road signs, officially notified pedestrian work and safe access as improvements progress. |
Choose your reading route
- Why are these streets part of a Bukit Timah safety update?
- How did the original Watten–Hillcrest campaign work?
- What exactly was proposed for Kheam Hock Road?
- Why was Sunset Way also named?
- What does the countdown approach teach drivers?
- How are children and older pedestrians affected?
- What is known about the Kheam Hock–Dunearn waiting area?
- Does this campaign mean new speed cameras or fines?
- What can residents do around pickups and deliveries?
- How should a 2027 road-safety review judge progress?
- How can a family plan safer everyday routes now?
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources and local links
Why are these streets part of a Bukit Timah safety update?
Did you know that a road-safety campaign can ask drivers to slow down by showing how little travel time they actually gain by speeding? Bukit Timah’s ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ effort uses this idea in residential streets, where families and motorists share relatively limited space.
The original initiative was launched in the Watten and Hillcrest area, before the Town Council’s April 2025 future-plans booklet identified an expansion to Kheam Hock Road and the Sunset Way Estate.
The proposed expansion matters because these are residential environments, not motorways. Residents may be walking to neighbours, schools, shops or public transport, while vehicles travel through streets that also contain driveways and junctions.
There is a crucial distinction, however: the published booklet establishes that expansion was planned. It does not, by itself, prove that all new signs have been installed on every relevant Kheam Hock or Sunset Way road, nor does it specify a campaign end date in 2027.
This article explains the established pilot, the announced extensions and the practical habits that can make a safer neighbourhood without inventing a new traffic rule.
How did the original Watten–Hillcrest campaign work?
The ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ initiative was publicly launched on 6 May 2024 at Watten Residents’ Hub at Bougainvillea Park. Coverage and Town Council materials describe efforts to reduce unnecessary speeding in the Watten and Hillcrest neighbourhoods.
Rather than promising to eliminate traffic, the programme communicated a simple calculation. Posters and standees along Greenwood Avenue, Watten Estate Road and Hillcrest Road highlighted that reaching the main road without speeding usually took only a small amount of time.
For example, a sign might tell drivers that they are less than two minutes from leaving the estate at a lawful speed. The psychological idea is straightforward: the time saved by rushing may be tiny compared with the safety risk created for people nearby.
This is road-safety education. Campaign signs are not the same as a speed-camera installation, police enforcement order or changes to the legally posted speed limit.
The original details are documented in the campaign launch report and the Town Council’s 2025 Bukit Timah publication.
What exactly was proposed for Kheam Hock Road?
The April 2025 Town Council future-plans list explicitly names the expansion of ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ to Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way Estate. It treats the expansion as a future local improvement.
The same publication separately mentions a new traffic light at the upper end of Kheam Hock Road, which the introductory message describes as already installed and creating intermittent breaks in through traffic during peak hours.
These two facts should not be conflated. A previously installed signal is physical road infrastructure. A public campaign about driving behaviour may have separate signs, materials and community engagement.
The publication also lists a plan to widen the waiting space at the traffic area where Kheam Hock Road meets Dunearn Road. A widened waiting area would have its own design and implementation status, distinct from an awareness poster.
For anyone travelling here during 2027, follow the signal and road markings that actually exist on the day. Do not imagine an unverified new traffic arrangement from a future-plans diagram.
Why was Sunset Way also named?
Sunset Way Estate is an established residential area with local streets, pedestrian routes and access toward major transport roads. The Town Council identified it as another location for the ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ extension.
The Bukit Timah commemorative booklet also describes an alternative road connection linking the Sunset private estate with Clementi Road. This was presented among improvements already achieved, not as a new road that needs to be opened during 2027.
A new connection can affect which streets people choose and how neighbourhoods experience through traffic. That makes clear wayfinding, sensible speeds and consideration for pedestrians important regardless of any campaign poster.
However, the announcement of a safety campaign does not prove that every street in Sunset Way has received new signs or that any specified new speed limit began on a fixed date.
Residents should watch for current project or traffic notices, and avoid relying on dated assumptions about which turns and crossings are allowed.
What does the countdown approach teach drivers?
Imagine a short residential stretch that takes approximately two minutes to travel at the posted limit. The instinct to accelerate may feel as though it saves an important amount of time, particularly when someone is late.
In reality, on a short road the saving may be only seconds. A driver can lose that entire margin at the next red traffic light, and the risk from reduced reaction time can affect people who have no control over the driver’s schedule.
The original campaign turned that trade-off into a memorable message. It was not claiming that every single journey is exactly two minutes or that traffic conditions never vary.
A useful driver habit is to plan a reasonable departure time and treat the speed limit as a maximum legal rule, not as a target to be exceeded whenever the road looks empty.
The best outcome is a change in everyday behaviour that persists after a temporary sign or event has finished.
How are children and older pedestrians affected?
Children can be less predictable near roads. A child may be distracted by a friend, move suddenly from a walkway or fail to judge a vehicle’s speed. Seniors may require more time at crossings or have other mobility needs.
Singapore’s Road Safety Council advises children to use designated crossings and avoid emerging from between parked vehicles. It also recommends clear visibility, attentive walking and suitable crossings for seniors.
Drivers need to anticipate these situations, not merely react after a pedestrian enters the road. Approach bends, entrances and crossings at appropriate speeds, keep sightlines clear and be prepared to give way.
Parents should practise road safety with children. Explain where to wait, why they should look in both directions and why a parked car can hide moving vehicles.
This guidance is useful whether or not the proposed safety campaign signs have reached a particular street. It does not depend on a claimed new rule in 2027.
Read the current Road Safety Council advice for children and seniors.
What is known about the Kheam Hock–Dunearn waiting area?
The Town Council’s future-plans list mentions an intention to widen the waiting space at the traffic area at the Kheam Hock Road and Dunearn Road junction.
The goal of a waiting area is generally to provide adequate space for people stopped at a crossing or access point, so pedestrians are not forced uncomfortably close to passing traffic. The precise function depends on approved engineering drawings and the layout of that particular junction.
The source does not provide a final design drawing, the dimensions of any widened platform or an opening day. A road-user guide should not invent these technical values.
If works take place, residents should follow official detour signs and keep pedestrian routes clear. Where a waiting area is temporarily narrowed, a current project notice is more useful than a generalized guide written months earlier.
In a 2027 update, the appropriate milestones would be published design, commencement of works, and confirmation that a safer waiting area is actually open.
Does this campaign mean new speed cameras or fines?
No such conclusion can be drawn from the materials cited here. The programme is identified as an awareness initiative. There is no documented campaign-specific announcement in the consulted sources installing a new speed camera at Kheam Hock Road or Sunset Way.
Singapore already has traffic laws, posted limits, signals and enforcement arrangements. A community safety campaign does not replace those requirements and should not be interpreted as permission to ignore them when no campaign volunteer is present.
Avoid repeating rumours that a newly published ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ banner carries a special fine. Only the proper traffic authority can announce and enforce the applicable rules.
Drivers should obey all existing signs, stop lines and crossings. Anyone witnessing dangerous behaviour should report it through appropriate official channels without attempting to confront or chase a vehicle.
For current driving rules, consult LTA’s official road rules and signage guide.
What can residents do around pickups and deliveries?
Pickup and delivery activity can make quiet residential roads feel much busier at certain times. A vehicle stopping at a narrow corner may obstruct sightlines even if the stop lasts only a minute.
Parents should agree on an authorised pickup point and avoid waiting where the car blocks a crossing, driveway or footpath. Children should remain on a safe pavement and approach the vehicle only when it has stopped legally.
Delivery and service drivers benefit from clear building numbers and instructions that do not require last-minute turns or reversing into crowded spaces.
Residents can help by keeping bins, plants and parked vehicles away from the walking route where rules require clearance. A safer public environment often depends on many small habits rather than a single major project.
These are general safe-use principles, not an assertion that new loading bays or specific parking restrictions have been introduced in 2027.
How should a 2027 road-safety review judge progress?
The first test is whether the proposed expansion actually happened at the two named locations. Did official communications, signs or programmes reach Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way, and on which dates?
The second test is whether the separate physical project near Kheam Hock Road and Dunearn Road progressed from a future plan to approved and completed works.
Third, consider practical experience. Can people use designated crossings comfortably? Are drivers respecting existing speed limits and giving space to vulnerable road users? Are signs visible and meaningful, rather than merely decorative?
Reliable reporting must distinguish a dated campaign launch, an installation photograph, a police enforcement record and a resident’s anecdote. They are different kinds of evidence.
No formal project-wide 2027 completion or enforcement target appears in the consulted Town Council material. The most honest outlook is to watch for actual local notices and encourage lawful, considerate road use meanwhile.
How can a family plan safer everyday routes now?
Begin with the route itself: home to school, home to the bus stop, or home to a shop. Identify designated crossings, pedestrian paths and junctions where turning vehicles may be present.
The Singapore Police Force encourages pedestrians to use official crossings, avoid crossing at bends or between parked cars and stay alert rather than being distracted by phones.
For seniors, consider the time needed to cross and whether a longer but better-controlled route is preferable. Parents can teach children to stop, look and wait for vehicles to halt before using a crossing.
If an official road improvement is in progress, use the signed alternative and avoid walking through a live works area. This applies even when someone knows the old route well.
The practical aim of ‘Be Kind, Drive Safe’ is a neighbourly road culture. It should feel safer to walk, not simply easier to display a campaign slogan.
Frequently asked questions
Where did Be Kind, Drive Safe begin in Bukit Timah?
It was launched in the Watten and Hillcrest neighbourhoods on 6 May 2024.
Which roads had the original countdown signs?
The Town Council describes Greenwood Avenue, Watten Estate Road and Hillcrest Road.
Which neighbourhoods were named for expansion?
The April 2025 future-plans booklet lists Kheam Hock Road and Sunset Way Estate.
Was the campaign’s expansion completed by October 2026?
The source confirms a future plan, not a verified complete installation on every road. Later official notices would establish completion.
Is the Kheam Hock traffic signal part of the same project?
No. The publication separately describes an already installed signal at the upper end of Kheam Hock Road.
What is proposed at the Kheam Hock–Dunearn junction?
A widening of the pedestrian waiting space is listed as a separate future improvement.
Was a new speed camera announced with the campaign?
Not in the cited programme announcement; do not invent enforcement infrastructure.
Did Sunset Way get a connection to Clementi Road?
The Town Council’s 2025 retrospective describes an alternative road connection between the Sunset private estate and Clementi Road.
Are children and older residents a focus?
Yes. Safer residential driving helps vulnerable pedestrians, and the campaign launch explicitly discussed these groups.
Do motorists still need to obey the normal speed limit?
Yes. Public-awareness messages do not replace posted limits or traffic law.
Can someone report blocked sightlines?
Use the appropriate road authority or Town Council feedback channel, with specific location and observations.
What should a 2027 update verify?
The actual campaign implementation, any approved junction improvement and published traffic notices, rather than treating a plan as an opening.
Sources and local links
These documents support the event chronology and transport-safety advice. Later traffic notices or rules from the relevant agencies supersede a dated planning booklet. Last checked 25 October 2026.
- Town Council: Watten road-safety campaign, Kheam Hock/Sunset extension and junction plans
- The Straits Times: Original Be Kind, Drive Safe campaign launch
- Singapore Road Safety Council: Child and older pedestrian guidance (2026)
- Singapore Police Force: Safe crossing practices
- LTA OneMotoring: Current speed, sign and driving rules
- Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council: Future announcements and contact
Continue reading: Watten Estate upgrading and drainage · Binjai pedestrian bridge and lifts · All Bukit Timah 2026–2027 updates.
More latest Bukit Timah neighbourhood updates
- Mayfair Park Silver Estate upgrading and age-friendly access
- Dunearn Estate upgrading and improved public walkways
- Completed Toh Tuck footpath upgrading and 2027 maintenance
Editorial note: The featured image is a general Bukit Timah roads photograph, not evidence of a new Kheam Hock or Sunset Way sign. The announced extension, a completed traffic light, and a proposed waiting-space improvement have separate statuses. No unverified 2027 opening date or enforcement device is claimed.