When a visitor travels from one end of West Coast to the other, he senses that there is an invisible line that divides the district into two. The eastern side of West Coast is filled with schools, residential areas and greenery, while the western side is largely industrial. The eastern side is spacious and relaxed, while the western side is crammed and busy 24/7. Perhaps the only common feature of the two sides is the sea, which runs parallel to the main roads of West Coast. This district is one of stark and almost flabbergasting contrast.

History

Like East Coast, West Coast was created out of reclaimed land in the late 1970s, an equal-opportunity land reclamation exercise that preserved our island's symmetry. To ensure fairness in land distribution, both the east and the west of Singapore were to get more land. After the reclamation, however, the two coasts developed in completely different ways. The East became a recreational hotspot whereas the West literally became hot, with all that plastic and food manufacturing.

In the 80s and early 90s, West Coast Park was already in existence but was a relatively desolate area. It was redeveloped in the late 90s, in hopes that it would be as vibrant as the East. Today, West Coast is livelier but still relatively quiet and very peaceful.