By YIP YOKE TENG
PJ residents concerned over rapid development
TRAFFIC congestion and infrastructure not in tandem with the rapid pace of development are the main concerns of Petaling Jaya residents at the dialogue on the Selangor Blueprint for 2011 to 2013.
The meeting held on Saturday at the (Petaling Jaya City Council’s (MBPJ) Civic Centre was the 10th in a series of 12 sessions held at various local councils in the state.
The attendance of 80 people was lower than that of other councils but Selangor executive council member Elizabeth Wong and Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Roslan Sakiman said the communities were still well represented because most of the participants were chairmen of residents’ associations and Rukun Tetangga.
Wong said the turnout was poor because residents had managed to voice their views at other meetings held by the council regularly.
Participants were divided into 14 groups to give their input on the city’s development in the next three years.
Apart from concerns over the city’s rapid development, the residents also brought up the need for local council elections, to improve the Town and Country Planning Act and better coordination between the federal and state governments.
They also felt the development in the city was developer-oriented instead of people-oriented, while others voiced their worry over social ills such as the cybercafe menace and the increase in crime rate.
Wong said the sessions to gather opinion from the grassroots were in line with the mentri besar’s planning approach and to empower the people.
She said the council was aware of the concerns raised and had measures in place to alleviate the problems, among them imposing a development charge on developers as a contribution to infrastructure development.
“With regards to traffic and transportation, we have the Klang Valley Transportation Council to look into the issues affecting not only Petaling Jaya, but also other areas, to solve the matter as a whole.
“The study and the council’s recommendations will be tabled alongside the blueprint,” Wong said.
When asked about the Draft Petaling Jaya Local Plan 2, she said all residents’ hearings had been concluded and the plan would also be gazetted in the near future.
The gathering of views from residents at other councils for the Selangor Blueprint will be on until the end of this month. The draft of the blueprint will be ready in October and tabled at the state assembly in November and announced in December.
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