Commentary on 'Orchard road facelift'

For today's commentary, I'll be talking about the 'Orchard road facelift', with reference to the article 'So, what's new?'- Sunday Times, The (Singapore) - Sunday, 15, 2009.

The parts of the commentary:

• Introductory Paragraph
  • Thesis Statement
  • Blueprint
• Body Paragraphs (x2)
  • Topic Sentence
  • Specific Support
    • Evidence
    • Explanation of Evidence
• Concluding Paragraph
  • Reworded Thesis Statement

______________________________________________________________________________________

Points:

Against:

1) $$ Can be spent on other areas which really need it.

2) Not only is it hardly noticeable, it even makes the situation worse.

3) In times of economic crisis, spending such huge amounts money should not be spent on issues which are not pertinent to the country.

For:

1) Tourism is an important source of revenue for Singapore and such upgrades will help attract more tourists.

_____________________________________________________________________

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the $40-million makeover of Orchard Road that the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has recently completed has not been well received by Singaporeans. They cite very valid reasons, an example being that the changes were hardly visible and could not be observed unless specifically scrutinized, as said by passers-by who only realized that something was different, after reading about the changes. In fact, some even say that the changes have only made things worse in Orchard Road. It also has to be said that the large amount of money could have been spent in by better ways to make Orchard Road a more attractive tourist destination. This essay will explore the various negatives of the makeover, and eventually prove that it was not worth the huge amount.

The makeover of Orchard Road has brought about much discontent within both Singaporeans and foreigners alike. Many complain about the problems it has brought about. For example, designer Josephine Jane has said that it does not look finished, and the flower totems that were supposed to add to the beauty of the place, only ended up blocking the view of pedestrians. Retiree Rosy Ong also commented that despite spending so much money to make the Orchard Road a greener placer, the dead leaves on the floor just made all the effort go down the drain. There exist also comments on the glass panels that seem to spoil the look of the place. All these comments go to show how STB has not achieved its goal of beautifying the place and attracting more tourists. Hence the $40-million makeover has proven has not had the impact in wanted to, and ended up going down the drain.

The makeover of Orchard road, which has cost $40-million, could have been spent better to make Orchard Road more attractive. Some passers-by said that the money could have gone into maintaining the place instead of upgrading it and event went on to specify that the pavements looked very dirty and the flooring very old. Also, salses promoter Nicholas Poh,18, said that the money could have been used to build a bridge across the road, which would have helped the situation better. Such examples go to show how the makeover could have been improved by spending the money on different areas to attract tourists.

This essay has why the makeover was not worth huge amount of $40-million spent on it. The money could have been put to better use in attracting tourists and developing the image of Singapore.