Commentary of Orchard Road Facelift

People may not have noticed the change in Orchard Road but they are wrong. A $40 million makeover was created on Orchard Road in the month of March but they have not been noticed by shoppers. Many new changes including street lamps and nicer designs were implemented. However, many shoppers noted that the facelift in Orchard Road was not useful as they were too small a change to be noticed or they were not practical and not worth the $40 million.

Shoppers that were interviewed after the facelift commented that the changes were too minor to be noticed. Even though several changes were made, such as the lamp posts, the glass panels and even potted flower totems, most shoppers could only noticed one change. One shopper said that Orchard Road was still the same as before and that there was not a big difference. These changes could only be noticed if one was observant and looked closely. Also, most shoppers did not notice the 5 meter increase in the walkway space and said that the Singapore Tourism Board should be thriftier and not upgrade Orchard Road as the changes were not very noticeable.

Shoppers who noticed the changes commented that they were not worth $40 million. One shopper said that the changes does not seems like they were $40 million, one even said that it looked as if it was worth $1 million. Some shoppers also said that the glass panels were not practical as diners who are drunk may smash into it and these will in turn cause more problems. Most of the people agreed that the money should be spent on more practical uses, for example, a bridge across Orchard Road and also the money should be spent on cleaning up the road instead of upgrading it.

However, there were also shoppers that said that the money spent was worth it as Orchard Road was the face of Singapore and it is a good idea to beautify it. They are improving the image of Singapore and as this was a long term investment, it will be useful. However, even though shoppers agreed that they had done a good job, they think that more could be done on the cleanliness of the Orchard Road. Only when cleanliness had been taken care of, should these changes be implemented.

In conclusion, the facelift of Orchard Road should not been implemented until a later date, when cleanliness had been taken care of, as this will result in a better image of Singapore and at the same time, attract more tourists. In the past, due to the number of shoppers, the walkway was often crowded, but now, not only was the walkway increased, there were also better scenery for shoppers.