Geylang Bahru

For the planning area, see Geylang.

Geylang Bahru
Subzone of Kallang Planning Area
Other transcription(s)
•  Malay	Geylang Bahru(Rumi) ݢيلڠ بهرو‎(Jawi)
•  Chinese	芽笼峇鲁(Simplified) 芽籠峇魯(Traditional) Yálóng Bālǔ(Pinyin) Gê-láng Bā-ló͘(Hokkien POJ)
•  Tamil	கேலாங் பாரு Kēlāṅ pāru(Transliteration)
Exit of Geylang Bahru MRT station at the junction of Geylang Bahru and Kallang Bahru
Coordinates: 1°19′20″N103°52′11″E / 1.32226°N 103.86982°E / 1.32226; 103.86982
Country	Singapore
Region	Central Region
Planning Area	Kallang
Area [1]
• Total	0.74 km2 (0.29 sq mi)
Population  (2015) [1]
• Total	12,870
• Density	17,000/km2 (45,000/sq mi)

Geylang Bahru is a subzone within the planning area of Kallang, Singapore, as defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It is bounded by the Pan Island Expressway (PIE) in the east; the Pelton Canal in the south; the Kallang River in the west; and Serangoon Road in the north. ^[2]

Previously, "Kolam Ayer" encompassed an area that included present-day Geylang Bahru subzone and the adjacent Kallang Way subzone, the latter of which is officially organised under Geylang Planning Area. Several places within Geylang Bahru still retain this name: Kolam Ayer Community Club and Kolam Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post, as well as the road Jalan Kolam Ayer. Made up of both residential and industrial developments, other notable places in Geylang Bahru include the Kallang Basin Swimming Complex, Kallang Distripark, the main office of Jalan Besar Town Council, the office of the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Services Centre. Geylang Bahru MRT station along the Downtown Line serves this subzone.

Geylang Bahru is also the name of a two-way road in the area. This road connects Bendemeer Road in the north with Upper Boon Keng Road in the south, with major junction located at Kallang Bahru. This road is unique as it is one of the few roads in Singapore to have a name without any generic element. The name of the subzone was derived from this road.

Etymology

The name. Kolam Ayer, was derived from the Malay phrase "kolam air", which translates to "pond water".

The subzone's current name, Geylang Bahru, came from a road in the area; "Geylang" is a place in Singapore, now considered a separate planning area from Kallang, while "Bahru" is the old Malay spelling for "baru", meaning "new".

Geylang Bahru first appeared as a proposed road in a street directory in 1969. ^[3] The road marked as Geylang Bahru in the 1969 map (and numerous revised editions released in the following years) roughly corresponds to the modern-day Upper Boon Keng Road. By 1975, Geylang Bahru, the current road was completed.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

Kolam Ayer roughly covers the modern-day subzones of Geylang Bahru and Kallang Way, part of the Kallang and Geylang planning areas respectively.

Before the development of Kallang, Kolam Ayer (as it was known at the time) had numerous Malay kampongs. The precinct was mainly served by a main road called Jalan Kolam Ayer before the 1960s. This road was eventually merged to form part of the present-day Pan Island Expressway (PIE).

During the dredging of the Kallang River in the late 1960s and early 1970s, ^[4] the Singapore government filled and leveled up the surrounding riverside with red mud that was carried by trucks from a nearby hill called Ang Chiang San (modern-day Toa Payoh). These areas formed what are today Bendemeer, Kallang Bahru and the old Geylang Bahru estate. ^[5]

1. City Population - statistics, maps and charts | Geylang Bahru
2. "Singapore's Kallang Planning Area". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
3. "Singapore Historical Map - OneMap".
4. The history of the "Kallang River". Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. by the National Heritage Board
5. Tan Khoon Yong (Chinese :陈军荣) (2001). "二：五龙汇星洲之【南龙】". 新加坡地形风水：五龙汇星洲 (in Chinese (Singapore)) (Reprint ed.). Singapore: Times Books International. p. 207. ISBN   981232061X.
6. The "Kolam Ayer Community". page (SNS) published by Dr. Yaacob and his team
7. The "Jalan Besar Town Council". official website
8. The "Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters". (ABC Waters) main page by the Public Utilities Board
9. The "Kolam Ayer ABC Waterfront". Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. introduction with a map by the Public Utilities Board
10. "Location of Kolam Ayer Geylang Bahru". People's Association. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.

Kolam Ayer
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	哥 南 亚 逸
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gēnán Yàyì Yue: Cantonese Jyutping go1 naam3 ngaa3 jat6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ko-lām A-ıt

v t e Places in Singapore by region
Listed by planning areas
Central	Central Area (City centre) Bishan Bukit Merah Bukit Timah Downtown Core Geylang Kallang Marina East Marina South Marine Parade Museum Newton Novena Orchard Outram Queenstown River Valley Rochor Singapore River Southern Islands Straits View Tanglin Toa Payoh
East	Bedok Changi Changi Bay Pasir Ris Paya Lebar Tampines
North	Central Water Catchment Lim Chu Kang Mandai Sembawang Simpang Sungei Kadut Woodlands Yishun
North-East	Ang Mo Kio Hougang North-Eastern Islands Punggol Seletar Sengkang Serangoon
West	Boon Lay Bukit Batok Bukit Panjang Choa Chu Kang Clementi Jurong East Jurong West Pioneer Tengah Tuas Western Islands Western Water Catchment