THE call by Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail encouraging community involvement in the care and maintenance of city parks, playgrounds, and roundabouts has drawn favourable response from the public as well as corporations.

Brickfields RT chairman S.K.K Naidu said it would also provide a means for the RT to earn money for its community activities.

“It’s a great idea. Our members are seniors citizens and gardening would keep them occupied. It would also help give them a sense of purpose,” Naidu said.

He added that the Brickfields RT would love to adopt the Chan Ah Tong field in the township and ensure that it was kept clean and maintained for the residents.

Ramli Shahril, who lives in the government quarters in Jalan Rozario, Brickfields, said the idea was good and that apart from ensuring the parks and playgrounds remained clean and tidy, it would indirectly get the residents to be responsible of their own areas.

Sungei Wang senior promotions and public relations manager K.K. Lim welcomed the idea and said the complex would love to work with the DBKL in adopting areas that were close to the complex.

Parkson general manager in charge of Parkson Care Lee Kong Huat said the mayor’s proposal was a good way of getting corporations to contribute to the community.

Lee said Parkson had always been interested in such endeavours and that the company had adopted eight parks under its corporate social responsibility programme.

The parks Parkson adopted are Taman Beringin and Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya in Petaling Jaya, Ipoh Polo Ground Park in Ipoh, Dataran Bunga Raya in Seremban, Taman Jubli Perak Park in Sungai Petani, Taman Kejiranan in Jalan Teluk Sisek, Kuantan, Kajang Municipal Council Children Playground in Kajang and Taman Datin Rokiah in Taman Century, Johor Baru.

“We have always been interested in adopting KL parks.

“In fact, we wanted to adopt the Lake Gardens and a park in Taman Desa and areas in Taman OUG,” Lee said.

Lee added that apart from funding the parks, Parkson staff were encouraged to get involved in sprucing up and restoring the park and its facilities.

Fuad added that a committee would be set up to formulate policies and programmes to develop a system to enable corporations to adopt the areas.

RESIDENTS and the Brickfields Rukun Tetangga (RT) say they are just being practical about the proposed traffic dispersal project along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

The residents and members of non-governmental agencies recently held a press conference to announce the reasons for their objections to the plan which would cost RM110mil for traffic dispersal and RM30mil for Little India projects in Brickfields.

More than 40 associations in Brickfields signed a letter of objection that was sent to Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail on Nov 9, the last day of the one-month objection period.

Resident G. Gunasegaran, 49, who has lived in the area for 37 years, said they were not being selfish but were more worried about the problems that would crop up if the scheme received the green light.

“We are disappointed that before the one-month objection period, many reports have surfaced stating we agree with the development when in fact, we do not,” he added.

The RT chairman, S.K.K. Naidu said there are 12 schools along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad and turning it into a one-way street would cause more traffic congestion and endanger the lives of the school children.

“Take the Kuen Cheng school along the Federal Highway for example, when school is over, the traffic jam stretches all the way to Jalan Kampung Attap. Here, we have 12 schools, so imagine the congestion,” Naidu said.

Another resident said the plan did not benefit anybody, especially the blind community in Brickfields.

“This place has a lot of history. The developers should leave this side alone. We should not forget our culture, tradition and religion for development,” said Dr Christopher Nicholas.

The issue of insufficient car parks was also raised by B. Muralidharan, who said the roads are congested due to the cars parked haphazardly along the main roads.

He said the staff of nearby office buildings park in the residents’ parking lots, forcing residents to park along the road.

Among the suggestions brought up in the letter are to have an elevated highway or a separate road linking KL Sentral to the Federal Highway, Jalan Mahameru and Jalan Travers; to make Jalan Thamby Abdullah a two-way street and to link Jalan Ang Seng to Jalan Travers.

Another suggestion is to increase the timing for the traffic light from Jalan Tun Sambathan to Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad (KFC) and Jalan Tun Sambathan 3 (Mobil Petrol station).

“However, when the ideas were mooted, we were told there are insufficient funds for the elevated highway.

“I feel that the developer MRCB should subsidise the costs,” said the honorary secretary of the Sri Kandaswamy temple G. Ganesan.

Other residents and NGO representatives urged the government to look at the problem in a broader perspective instead of making hasty decisions.

 Source : The Star

THREE Pakatan Rakyat MP’s of Kuala Lumpur are questioning some of the discrepancies in the RM110mil traffic dispersal plan proposed for Brickfields.

Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, Bukit Bintang MP Fung Kui Lun and Seputeh MP Teresa Kok have been asked by some residents to help address certain issues up in Parliament regarding the traffic dispersal plan. The MP’s help were sought because their constituencies border areas that will be affected by the proposed plan.

 “The plan is only serving the needs of MRCB which is KL Sentral. Where are the traffic assessment reports and analysis done for the project?’’ asked Nurul Izzah.

“It would be pointless for us to put in our objections without having any data on the traffic volume,’’ she said.

Nurul Izzah is also questioning why MRCB was awarded the contract for the project instead of it being put through an open tender.

“RM110mil is a lot of money and it is the taxpayers’ money. There is no point in spending so much money for a system that does not work,’’ added Fung.

The MPs also asked why they were not consulted by the DBKL and that they only found out about the project from residents. “We will bring this matter up in Parliament,’’ Nurul Izzah said.

Meanwhile, the one-month deadline for residents and the business community of Bangsar and Brickfields to submit their feedback and suggestions on the traffic plan ends today.

On Oct 9, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail gave the residents a month to put their views in and he had asked MRCB to make available details on the social impact and traffic assessment reports and analysis done on the project to residents.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with the Brickfields business community last week, Deputy Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk M. Saravanan had requested the DBKL to have another meeting with residents to address the security and safety concerns they might have on the project.

The proposed traffic solution under the RM110mil stimulus package, include Package 1: construction of flyover at Jalan Travers/Jalan Bangsar Intersection, Package 2: construction of flyover from KL Sentral to Jalan Damansara & the Mahameru Highway, Package 3: upgrading of Jalan Tun Sambanthan and its vicinity, Package 4: construction of pedestrian bridges & linkages, Package 5: upgrade and repair roads in KL Sentral and Package 6: construction of elevated road from Jalan Bangsar to Jalan Maarof.

Source : The Star

EXPECT to see a greener, more eco-friendly Kuala Lumpur Sentral when you are in the area in the near future.

Developer GSB Sentral Sdn Bhd, in collaboration with Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), has launched a campaign to plant 1,000 trees and plants within the KL Sentral and 348 Sentral developments. The two developers are involved in the latter project.

According to the MRCB group managing director Sharil Ridzuan, the management understands the need to balance the highrise KL Sentral developments with environmental preservation.

 Read more at : The Star

Source : The Star

The proposed plan, which will be undertaken by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), is expected to start in June and finish in 2011.

It involves a major traffic dispersal scheme for the KL Sentral and Brickfields areas.

The RM110mil project includes an overpass at the Jalan Travers–Jalan Bangsar interchange, and a ramp connecting KL Sentral to the Mahameru Highway. There will also be road-widening and upgrading work along Jalan Tun Sambanthan and the other connecting roads in the area.

One of the key changes is a one-way traffic flow in Jalan Tun Sambanthan leading to Jalan Tun Sambanthan 3 (next to the Mobil station) and Jalan Padang Belia and Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 before connecting to Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad and Jalan Berhala.

In the proposed plan, most of the inner roads will be made into one-way streets, potentially bringing more traffic into the inside streets and, to a certain extent, even changing the livelihoods of people like the pasar malam traders in Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad or the blind pedestrians from the MAB.