Queenstown, Marine Parade to pilot more inclusive spaces for people with disabilities
A second initiative at Paya Lebar Quarter will focus on creating employment opportunities for PWDs.
Queenstown and Marine Parade are set to be the first towns in Singapore to pilot initiatives aimed at making community spaces more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities (PWDs). Led by SG Enable, the pilot program will commence in 2027 and involve collaboration with grassroots organizations to enhance the accessibility of areas such as parks and hawker centers. Additionally, public education efforts will be undertaken to encourage residents to engage with PWDs more confidently and respectfully.
Goh Pei Ming and Eric Chua, who represent Queenstown and Marine Parade respectively, are part of an inter-agency task force established in December 2025 to strengthen support for PWDs and their families. Goh serves as Senior Minister of State for Social and Family Development, while Chua is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development.
Chua highlighted the importance of making inclusion a way of life in these neighborhoods, emphasizing that it should not be limited to creating separate spaces for PWDs. The task force aims to foster interactions among PWDs, their caregivers, and the broader community to facilitate a more natural integration of inclusion into everyday life.
Another focus of the program is ensuring the accessibility of major attractions, with SG Enable partnering Sentosa Development Corporation to make Sentosa a more inclusive leisure and tourism destination. This may include workplace support and visitor experiences tailored for PWDs and their families. The Greater Sentosa Master Plan could also integrate accessibility and universal design principles into future developments on the island.
Currently, over 60 PWDs are employed across various roles on Sentosa, and the island is home to Singapore's first accessible beach track. The task force received feedback indicating that some PWDs require longer pathways after leaving special education schools to develop independent living skills and maintain a good quality of life.
To address this, more Day Activity Centres and Sheltered Workshops will be converted into Enabling Skills Centres, offering a structured curriculum through the Enabling Skills for Life Programme. This programme, piloted in 2025, aims to help PWDs build everyday skills, independence, and employability while also supporting caregivers in reinforcing learning at home.
The Ministry of Social and Family Development currently funds 33 Day Activity Centres and eight Sheltered Workshops, which provide 3,600 places, with about 3,300 PWDs utilizing these facilities and around 600 individuals on waiting lists since December 2025. The network of Enabling Services Hubs will be expanded to 12 locations by 2028, with the first three hubs located in Tampines, Jurong West, and Punggol, and a fourth planned in Marine Parade.
Additionally, caregivers will have access to information and assistance with navigating services, including respite care, through eight sites, including the existing Enabling Services Hubs, starting from 2027.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
