By Stories by BAVANI M
bavanim@thestar.com.my
Photos by AZMAN GHANI and AZLINA ABDULAH | Feb 16, 2012
Striking a balance
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Important point: Proper road signs are needed for Brickfields to divert traffic as the township is always under construction.
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Brickfields, the home of Kuala Lumpur’s Little India is fast becoming an urban planner’s nightmare. Its location in a landlocked area is impeding its growth and creative solutions are needed to resolve its congestion woes.
Faced with overdevelopment and the maddening traffic that spill into and choke the inner roads, it is no surprise to find the Brickfields’ traffic-weary community expressing their dissatisfaction.
And despite the Government’s attempts to ease traffic woes in the township — the RM110mil Traffic Dispersal Masterplan to build six ramps within the Brickfields/Bangsar area and turning part of Jalan Tun Sambanthan into a contra-flow lane last year and then reverting to the old format — people are still unhappy.
While these solutions have to some extent eased congestion, traffic experts, town planners and stakeholders said these were merely short-term solutions and things might get worse if no viable traffic solutions were found soon.
“As the township grows and more buildings come up with higher density and plot ratio, the urban infrastructure will be overburdened and commuting time will increase. The authorities must plan creative solutions,’’ said traffic planner Goh Bok Yen.
Brickfields is a landlocked township. It is sandwiched between the river and a railway track.
“As in most railway tracks back then, it is usually a backyard with only a limited number of roads that are not properly planned,” said Goh.
So, when there is limited space, how do you solve congestion?
Breaking the land lock
Railway tracks are usually located within the urban centre. Areas like Daya Bumi, Brickfields, Sentul and even Mid Valley City are great locations for development and every developer wants to maximise their profits by increasing the plot ratio.
“Brickfields is strategic and the human flow is constant due to KL Sentral’s transport interchange. But when development continues to escalate without increasing the infrastructure — the township will eventually choke up,’’ Goh said.
He pointed out that the multi-million ringgit traffic dispersal plan, implemented as an afterthought after building KL Sentral, did bring some relief but it also created an impact around the area.
Brickfields Rukun Tetangga chairman S.K.K Naidu said that with development, there were more vehicles too.
“When vehicles are diverted into local roads and streets with schools, churches and temples, which were traditionally backyard roads, and this affects the quality of life of the community there,” he said.
“More developments also mean more construction, diversions, traffic, noise, pollution and hassle,’’ he added.
Progressive tactics needed
In order for the township to overcome its weaknesses, the Government must address the flaws proactively.
Goh pointed out that accessibility, traffic dispersal, improving the road’s internal circulations and the lack of car parks must be tackled.
He added thatt despite having beautiful offices in KL Sentral, getting into the transport hub to take the train or drop off passengers can be a challenging affair.
“People need to know what is the fastest way in and the fastest way out. Proper accessibility and traffic dispersal system will indirectly break the bottleneck,’’ Goh said.
He added that the authorities must also do something to improve the circulation of the inner roads in Brickfields.
Goh said that with many inner roads in the township, it could be confusing when there is no clear road signs to direct traffic.
“With on-going construction, it is important to direct people visually. It does not matter whether they are driving, riding or walking. Variable message sign (VMS) and portable signages like arrow boards can be used to lead people where to go, like the system practised in Singapore,’’ added Goh.
The car park challenge
When you drive into an urban centre, you need a place to park, yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to find an empty parking spot in Brickfields.
Without doubt the lack of parking bays has reached a critical stage in the Brickfields traffic congestion saga.
With more development slated for the township, Brickfields would eventually be filled to the brim.
While the Government is optimistic that at least 40% of Kuala Lumpur’s population will switch to public transport by 2020, the experts are not so sure.
It is also common that when new projects come up, space — more often parking space — is removed and turned into sidewalks and pedestrians walkway.
This was what happened when the RM35mil Little India was constructed.
For KL Sentral, a basic car park management system to curb the congestion must be implemented.
A good system would include interactive VMS signs informing and directing people of the availability of bays as soon as they enter.
“At least you will not have people driving around aimlessley and creating congestion’’ Goh said, adding that KL Sentral should follow the system implemented at the Curve, Damansara.
Another option, which is popular in Australia, would be to create a parking fee system with zones to reduce traffic in urban areas.
“It makes parking in different zones expensive, and the longer you park, the more expensive it gets,’’ explained Goh.
Currently 75% of parking bays in KL Sentral and Brickfields are occupied by tenants who park their vehicles for more than eight hours.
A system like this would be ideal for areas like Little India — whereby it prevents people from ocupying parking bays for longer hours.
And for bays located right in front of the shops, parking fee should be increased by 50% every hour to curb long-hour parking.
Naidu agreed that parking zone system may be a viable option as long as it is implemented properly.
“Dividing Brickfields into parking zones, with different pricing and limited parking time is fine as long as ample parking is also provided at the city’s outskirts with low parking charges,”
He also suggested the authorities build more parking bays along the river bank area near the Tun Sambanthan Monorail station as an incentive to those parking far away.
In fact Naidu even thinks that free parking should be given to those who park outside the city to encourage people to park and walk.
Pedestrianisation and retaining the old world charm
While urban development and regeneration are essential factors for a growing city, pedestrianisation is a necessity element for a city.
Planners agreed that vehicular traffic should be removed from certain parts of the city and make it exclusive to pedestrians.
A good area to promote pedestrianisation would be a heritage site like Little India.
“Overdevelopment is not really an issue, it depends on the area one is looking at,’’ said town planner Jefry Clyde.
“Little India went through cosmetic changes recently but is that enough? The problem of infrastructure not keeping up with development extends all the way to KL Sentral,’’ said Clyde.
Clyde who is the director of AJC Planning Consultant Sdn Bhd said that pedestrianisation around KL Sentral was pathetic.
“When you get to the old railway yards and quarters, overdevelopment is variable and the problem lies in the connectivity between Brickfields, KL Sentral and its surrounding sites.
Most planners did not have a problem with high-density development but said that it needed
corresponding infrastructure and policy.
Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB) deputy executive director Godfrey Ooi agreed with Clyde that pedestrians were a forgotten “commodity” in Brickfields.
“The main problem is parking space, people parking on the streets make it difficult for both the public and the blind community, which causes confusion and jams. This is the main reason why people don’t want to come to Brickfields,’’ Ooi said.
Clyde said that in some cases you literally walked straight into a brick wall or the end of a footpath.
“It is poor detailing in the development of the architect and the developer,’ he added.
“As a pedestrian you run out of adequate footpath, and if the walking experience is poor, you use your car instead of public transport, which creates congestion,’’ he said.
Ooi pointed out that the construction of bridges and lifts, which were build as an afterthought were not necessary for the blind as they did not use it anyway.
The authorities are “between the devil and the deep blue sea’’ situation over the congestion saga by having to choose between the residents and traders.
But they must eventually realise that a working solution is needed and a long-term one at that.
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