Boon Lay

SG neighbourhood
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englishname=Boon Lay
chinesename=文礼
pinyin=Wénlǐ
malayname=Boon Lay
tamilname=பூன் லே

Boon Lay is a small housing estate in the western region of Singapore. It is situated between Jurong West and the newer Jurong West Extension. The general geographical area is classified under the Jurong West Planning Area by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

Etymology and history

The "Boon Lay" area is named after Chew Boon Lay, a prominent businessman in the late 19th century and early 20th century. His rubber estate was located here. The War Department subsequently made a requisition of 1.012 km² of land from his estate, which led to the growth of Boon Lay Village. In the early 1960s, Boon Lay Village had a population of about 420.

Amenities

hopping centres

A shopping centre that caters mainly to the residents, Boon Lay Shopping Centre, is located along Boon Lay Place. The former Savoy movie theatre and a public swimming pool (now a hockey complex) can be found next to the shopping centre. Also, next to the shopping centre is the Boon Lay Place Market & Food Village, where wet market and hawker centre are found.

A major shopping centre, Jurong Point Shopping Centre, is situated about 200 meters away from Boon Lay MRT Station. Until 2006, Boon Lay Bus Interchange was next to Jurong Point Shopping Centre; however, it has since been relocated and demolished to make way for an extension of Jurong Point as well as the building of a condominium over that site.

chools

There are mainly two schools found: Jurong West Primary School located along Jurong West Street 65 and River Valley High School which is going to be relocated in 2010 along Jalan Boon Lay.

Library

Relocated from the 4th floor of Jurong Point Shopping Centre to Frontier Community Club, Jurong West Community Library (JWCL) re-opened its doors to the public on 10th of March 2006. The new library is uniquely integrated with Frontier Community Club, allowing visitors to move conveniently from the CC to the library on every level. The modernity of the upgraded library can be seen from the facilities available, which include self-service kiosks, cybrarians, audio-visual materials and comics collection.

Medical Centre

The Jurong Medical Centre started its operation in August 2006. Situated next to the Frontier Community Club, it provides specialists care for the community.

The newly opened Medical Clinics at B1A started its operation in June 2008. Situated next to the Japanese Food Street, located at B1A. It can be accessed by an escalator in the Japanese Food Street. There are many types of clinic there. There is the Dental Clinic, Optical Clinic and many more...

afety and security

Jurong West Neighbourhood Police Centre, under the purview of Jurong Police Division, is located along Corporation Road, about 15 minutes walk away.

Jurong Fire Station can be found just off the junction of Boon Lay Drive and Boon Lay Way. Boon Lay is one of the most populated areas in Singapore.

Transport

Commuter trains

There are two Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations which are in proximity to Boon Lay. The closer one is Lakeside MRT Station, which is EW26 on the East West MRT Line, located about 700 metres away. The other is Boon Lay MRT Station, which is EW27, located about 1 kilometre away.

Local buses

Boon Lay Bus Interchange is located at Jurong West Central, just next to Boon Lay MRT Station. It serves some 30 bus routes to different parts of Singapore. On the 14 June 2006, the Boon Lay Interchange was closed for renovation from Sunday, 18 June 2006 and all operations were shifted to a temporary interchange located near the junction of Jurong West Street 64 and Boon Lay Way.

The temporary Boon Lay Interchange is linked to the Boon Lay MRT station and caters to 30 bus services. SBS Transit bus services that operate from the temporary Boon Lay Interchange are Service 30, 79, 154, 157, 174, 174e, 179, 181, 182, 182M, 192, 193, 194, 198, 199, 240, 242, 243W, 243G, 246, 249, 251, 252, 254, 255, 257 and 405. SMRT bus services that operate from the temporary Boon Lay Interchange are Service 172, 178, 180 and 187.

The new permanent Boon Lay Interchange is targeted to be ready by 2009.

In addition, the following bus services pass through Boon Lay:

"(along Boon Lay Place)"
*SBS Transit
**99 - from Clementi to Jurong West Street 91, via Jurong East
**240 - from Boon Lay to Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim
**242 - from Boon Lay Interchange to Jurong West Street 91
**246 - From Boon Lay to Yung Ho Road

"(along Boon Lay Avenue)"
*SBS Transit
**174 - from Boon Lay to New Bridge Road, via Bukit Batok, Bukit Timah, Orchard Road, Chinatown
**198 - from Boon Lay to Bukit Merah, via Jurong East, Ayer Rajah Expressway
**502 - from Pioneer Road North (in Jurong West) to Marina Centre, via Jurong East, Orchard Road

*SMRT Buses
**NR5 - Late night service on weekends and eve of public holidays from Marina Centre to Jurong West

Interstate buses

In addition to local buses, Malaysian Inter-State Express Buses start off from the former Savoy movie theatre to specific destinations in Malaysia as an alternative to the bus terminals located downtown such as those at Kallang Bahru Bus Terminal and Golden Mile Shopping Centre. Tickets can be bought from ticket agents at Boon Lay Shopping Centre.

References

*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), "Toponymics - A Study of Singapore Street Names", Eastern Universities Press, ISBN 981-210-205-1

External links

* [http://sg.pagenation.com/sin/Boon%20Lay%20Place_103.7113_1.3489.map Boon Lay Place @ sg.pagenation.com]
* [http://www.ura.gov.sg/dc/plng_area/plng_area_index.html URA - Planning Area Boundaries @ ura.gov.sg]
* [http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/hd/InternetListingMHC.pdf NEA - List of Government Markets / Hawker Centres @ nea.gov.sg]
* [http://www.sbstransit.com.sg/press/2006jun_14-1.aspx SBS Transit- Upgrading of Boon Lay Bus Interchange]