By Jade Chan and Tan Karr Wei
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/5/6/central/3818712&sec=centralIN early March, the Selangor government announced that it will allocate RM10bil for urban renewal activities, with a focus on redeveloping areas like Petaling Jaya and Klang.
The plan is part of a statewide scheme to create a catalyst for economic development and also includes the rehabilitation and cleaning up of the Klang River and expansion of the transportation for the entire state,
StarMetro spoke to several professionals and Petaling Jaya residents on what they think is needed to redevelop the city. Following are some of the comments:
Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP) president Norliza Hashim, a town planning expert, feels that PJ should go for a regeneration rather than a redevelopment process.
“When we talk about regeneration, the rebuilding process should consider what already exists and its impact on the surrounding areas, which in this case is the community,” Norliza said.
“However, there is a need to be sensitive to the question of affordance and for a strong policy to be in place, because when redevelopment occurs, the cost of living is inadvertently increased,” she pointed out.
“Urban regeneration is needed, or else that part of the city won’t be developed. It is more sustainable to develop the ‘brownfield sites’, which is to upgrade, enhance and rejuvenate an existing area, rather than the developers’ preference to develop ‘greenfield sites’ of undeveloped space on the boundaries of the city.”
A brownfield is an urban area which is or has formerly been the site of commercial or industrial activity, especially one cleared and available for redevelopment, while a greenfield denotes building away from existing developments.
Norliza suggested that areas to be looked into should include public transportation, pedestrian walkways and social amenities.
“Opting for the bus is the simpler solution because it gets commuters almost directly to their destination. Reclaim one road lane as a dedicated bus route,” she said.
Sports in the city: Norliza said the conversion of former industrial buildings into
futsal courts was a great example of being creative.
“The concept takes getting used to but it is easier to use buses as a form of public transport in compact cities, provided the stops are well-planned and routes well-integrated.”
Norliza said walking should be enhanced by making pedestrian walkways barrier-free and continuous.
“There should be no obstructions on the walkways. It should have the correct width, gradient and level, with ramps, to allow senior citizens and those using wheelchairs and strollers to move about,” she said.
“With the increase in the younger population and number of educational institutions in PJ, there is a need for social amenities to cater to this group.”
Norliza said these amenities should be provided at fairly reasonable rates that could accommodate the young people’s lifestyles.
“Besides sports and recreation facilities, we should consider sharing other resources, such as opening school halls to the public after school hours or on weekends for sports or lifelong learning activities.
“We just need to be creative in finding solutions,” she said, citing the conversion of former industrial buildings into futsal courts as a good example.
On high-rise development, Norliza feels that it is all right to have one plot of land with a slight increase in density as it creates variety in the community, provided its scale, design and height is humane to its surroundings.
Norliza suggested that areas in PJ that could be looked into for rejuvenation are Section 13, PJ Old Town, Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, Kampung Chempaka and the Old Klang Road stretch.
“The village areas need better infrastructure and facilities with proper housing structure, yet their close-knit community ties should be maintained. There should be proper consultation with the people to understand what they need,” she said.
“The regeneration has to be unique to the individual local area as each has its own issues and features. The PJ population comprises a mix of the older generation who may not been be keen on change, and the younger residents who require more amenities, so we have to be more sensitive when planning to accommodate all of them,” Norliza said.
Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) president Lee Chor Wah (above) said that the first thing was to address the bane of most Klang Valley denizens – the traffic congestion.
“A two-tiered highway should be built on the LDP Expressway and the Federal Highway. The residents should pressure the government for this to be done to address the traffic situation,” Lee said.
“The government should also invest its money on improving public transportation, such as improving the bus services,” he said.
“Once the public transportation system is improved, people would be willing to take the bus or train and not drive. The routes and stops have to be well-planned, such that senior citizens in remote suburbs also have access to buses,” Lee said.
He also said walking should be encouraged in the city by improving the walkways.
“One idea is to build connected walkways to improve the connectivity between train stations to bus stations. Another is to have elevated walkways at high traffic areas, like from the PJ Hilton to Menara Axis, the UMMC (Universiti Malaya Medical Centre) to Section 12, and Sungai Way New Village to Seri Setia KTM station,” Lee said.
“More trees should be planted and landscaping properly done to provide shaded walkways. The existing green space should also be enhanced, rejuvenated and made as useful as possible,” he said.
“If we plan things in a more considerate, caring and humane way, that would cater to the entire community.”
Lee feels that incentives should be given to developers and building owners to take up the green building concept.
“The green building concept promotes energy efficient methods, water-saving features, rain water harvesting, environmental quality control and other ways to save energy,” he said.
“The government should also consider re-zoning certain industrial areas like Section 13 to commercial, as its buildings and warehouses would otherwise be left derelict,” Lee said.
“These former industrial zones need to be revitalised, but support facilities like shops and restaurants should also be put in place to support the local activities.”
On high-rise development, Lee said they could be regulated through the plot ratio, height control and density.
“A higher-density building should be better, as it would offer more ground space for the people to use.
“People shouldn’t oppose development; they can use that as an opportunity to get the developer to give something back to the community,” he said.
Lee said the principles of new urbanisation could be borrowed by having community shops within the neighbourhood to promote walking.
“It’s more convenient to walk to the nearby grocery store to get some simple day-to-day necessities. The charm and uniqueness of PJ Old Town should also be kept,” Lee said.
“The traffic and density should be improved, while the public transportation link is very important to attract people to use.”
To ensure a good retail mix in PJ Old Town, Lee said a mix of a control and free market system should be used to manage the type of businesses in the area while giving priority to existing traders.
“The government should look into engaging the community to encourage a better sense of belonging, such as giving the community maintenance money and the responsibility to take care of their own area,” Lee said.
PJ Old Town residents
Revitalise it: Shamsuddin said efforts should be made to improve the situation in PJ Old Town.
According to Section 3 Rukun Tetangga (RT) chairman Shamsuddin Hassan, there is a dire need to bring life back to the area, even though there is no space for redevelopment.
“We only have a market and bus station in the area, but we don’t have recreational facilities. What used to be a field is now a hockey stadium. We used to have a community hall and playground, but they have been replaced with a library,” he said.
Shamsuddin suggested that the existing facilities be maximised by turning the upper floor of the PJ Old Town bus station into an open-space cafe, while the ground floor area could have open kiosks selling takeaway food and drinks.
Another suggestion is to have a Sunday car boot sale or flea market at the parking lot next to the bus station.
Shamsuddin said because there were hardly any recreational facilities for youths in PJ Old Town, most of them had to travel to other parts of PJ and spend money for sports and recreational activities.
“We welcome the idea of turning the hockey stadium into a multi-purpose sports complex because that would cater to a wider group in our community,” he said.
Section 3 RT secretary Norashikin Ali feels that one section of the food court next to the market could be used as a youth centre.
Section 3 RT security officer Stanislaus Anthony said there should be more bus routes to service the town and bring back the liveliness that it had in the 1970s.
“The buses used to travel to various parts of PJ to service all the residents, but the routes now only go to KL, Puchong and Taman Medan,” he said.
“Despite that, we still have people from as far as Subang Jaya and Brickfields coming to the market because it is renowned for its reasonable prices and product freshness,” Anthony said.
The residents, most living at PJ Old Town for over 50 years, said the present infrastructure could not support the increasing traffic and that there was a lack of parking space in the area.
They complained that cars were often parked illegally and that shoppers preferred not to park at the market, even though it had parking space on its upper floors, because of the RM1.60 per hour parking charges and lack of lifts for shoppers’ convenience.
“PJ was originally developed as a satellite town, with the pioneer residents staying in PJ Old Town which comprises Sections 1, 1A, 18, 2, 3 and 4,” Shamsuddin said.
“Section 1 was the first new town built by the British, while Section 3 was the first low-cost housing area in the city,” he said.
“What is unique about our community is that because we’re so close-knit, we can immediately recognise when a resident or stranger is passing by. We now have four generations of people, but we still know practically everyone,” Shamsuddin said.
Lifeline needed: Shamsuddin also suggested turning the upper floor of the
PJ Old Town bus station into an open-space cafe.
PJ Old Town Residents Assocation secretary Connie Foong noted that the 60-year lease for the PJ Old Town land title would be expiring soon, and hoped that the government would change the land status from its present leasehold title to freehold.
Kg Chempaka residents
Kampung Chempaka Rukun Tetangga chairman Lee Meng Chong said he would like to see some upgrading of facilities within the village.
He feels that the villagers are lagging in terms of development even though they are surrounded by massive development.
“There are many problems in the area like the lack of parking and the roads are too narrow. Sometimes, Alam Flora can’t even get into some of the roads,” Lee said.
Although the land in Kampung Chempaka could fetch a hefty price, Lee doubted that many owners would sell their land.
“After we received our land titles, many of us spent quite a lot of money on renovating our houses,” Lee said.
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