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Saturday Night Skate 27 February 2010 - Prosperity Nightskate, Esplanade to West Coast Park

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Edmund Vong

Report by Jon Wong
Skateline Instructor/SNS Leader

About 50 skaters showed up for the Prosperity Nightskate in February, just one day prior to the Chinese traditional day, 'Ren-Ri', which signifies the end of the Chinese Lunar New Year. This route saw us travelling from The Cenotaph Memorial located in Esplanade Park, to MacDonalds' Restaurant in West Coast Park.

The entire journey spans across a distance of approximately 12 km, and mainly on paved surfaces. Our entourage took about 3 hours to complete the journey, promptly setting off at around 8pm and ended at 11pm.

The first phase of the journey was to travel from Esplanade Park to Vivocity at The HarbourFront. The journey was relatively easy, with only the narrow pavements along Keppel Road to deal with. There was this low ceiling which was part of the AYE entry bridge, which was the main obstacle for this phase.

Low ceiling

Vivocity was within an hour's journey, and we had our break outside the mall, for participants to rehydrate themselves from the kiosks nearby.

Resting outside VivoCity

The real challenge came in the second phase when we travelled from Vivocity onwards. This is the first time in 3 years that we are skating over this stretch of route. We had to cross over to the opposite side of the road upon reaching the junction at Henderson Road.

Soon after we were on the pavement against traffic as the stretch along traffic beneath West Coast Highway was under major construction works, and it boasts the danger of crossing the exit road from the AYE.

The surface wasn't always nice and smooth, and after passing by the housing estates and some temples, the rough surfaces set in. The main obstacle of this route sits right before the former Haw Par Villa, which has since ceased to operate as a tourist attraction.

One of the temples

A tiny little concrete path, paved over the grass to facilitate movement for the pedestrians, was all we had to cross over into Pasir Panjang Road. It can only allow the participants to go along in a single file. Shortly after 10m on the pavement, was a steep downhill slope and a huge pipe running right across at the bottom of the apex, which threatens to trip us. Thankfully, all the participants crossed over safely with the help of the SAVs, while some opted to step along the grass.

SAVs lend a hand

From then on, West Coast Park was within our grasp. We had to cross a traffic light to get to it, and our complimentary bus was already there waiting for us. I had the pleasure of handing out red packets to the participants as they sit or queue for their well-deserved food and drinks.

It was a great night skate, coupled with excellent weather. And its a milestone for us to try this new route.

Many thanks to the following volunteers for maintaining the safety for this night skate:
Jack, Chong Boon, Jason, Steven, Siew Ying, Chun Yang and our photographer, David.

I wish to pay special compliments to SAV Leonard, who stayed with and looked after one of the participants, Ms Yati, throughout the journey, though they were trailing at the rear.