Geylang Bahru

Geylang Bahru
Subzone of 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″N 103°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 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] It is worth noting that 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.

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