Stakeholders are calling for more walkways for people to access public transportation stations in a bid to reduce the usage of personal cars and ease traffic congestion. — Filepic
KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been actively gathering public feedback since January to draw up its 2025 budget.
A portal was launched on DBKL’s website to receive public feedback from Jan 8 to March 7 for the budget which is slated to be tabled by the year end.
City Hall is also holding engagement sessions at the parliamentary level until July 27 for feedback from the people.
StarMetro spoke to several stakeholders to learn about what they hope to see in DBKL’s planned expenditure.
Better development control
Wong: More funds should be allocated to DBKL’s Landscape Department for tree maintenance.Taman Desa Residents Association chairman Wong Chan Choy said he wanted stricter controls on development projects.
He urged DBKL not to approve further development plans in the Seputeh neighbourhood which could worsen traffic congestion.
“The spate of new developments in the area has brought in an influx of vehicles and contributed to parking issues.
“Even now the existing roads can barely accommodate the traffic volume, especially during peak hours,” he said.
There had also been complaints about low water pressure especially in the morning, which Wong attributed to increase in the number of residents.
“The underground pipes are old and in need of replacement. They cannot cope with the increased demand,” he said.
Invest in public facilities
More public facilities such as community halls, sports centres and parks should be built, Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development Association (KLRA+SD) chairman Tan Booi Charn said.
She pointed to Taman Supreme in Cheras, which she said could use more green areas and recreational facilities.
“There is a shortage of recreational areas in Cheras,” she said, adding such places were important spots for local communities to gather and socialise.
Alliance for Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said more funds should be channelled towards drainage maintenance.
“Kuala Lumpur is not spared the impact of climate change, with flash floods becoming more common during downpours.”
Separately, Lee also called on DBKL to form a committee to review the workmanship of contractors it hired.
“Some works such as road resurfacing are not up to par, raising questions of whether contractors were cutting corners,” he said.
A tree along Jalan Pinang fell onto a car during a thunderstorm last month. — Photo courtesy of Oriental Daily
Focus on green initiatives
Naidu: DBKL must continue its push for low-carbon city and green initiatives.Brickfields Rukun Tetangga chairman SKK Naidu wants DBKL to step up its push for low-carbon city and green initiatives, stressing that more trees should be planted to reduce carbon emissions.
He said DBKL should work with experts to identify suitable tree species, in view of the number of trees that fell recently during major storms.
Kuala Lumpur is home to nearly 240,000 trees and some 1,300 trees are more than 30 years old.
DBKL recently identified 30 trees as “high risk”.
Wong said more funds should be allocated to DBKL’s Landscape Department to carry out tree maintenance.
He said DBKL recently inspected the trees near his housing area and tagged a handful as at risk of falling or in need of pruning.
Better complaints systemNaidu said DBKL’s Adu@KL system, the online platform for filing complaints, should be improved.
He said many complaints submitted were not responded to or had been marked as “resolved” without proper resolution.
“In Brickfields, many residents submitted complaints about traders parking vehicles illegally by roadsides,” he said.
“However, these complaints were marked as ‘resolved’ with the reason given that DBKL enforcement officers could not find the vehicles concerned,” he noted.
Tan, meanwhile, suggested that more community centres be built in neighbourhoods to receive public complaints.
The local authority should also hold engagement sessions to explain the actions taken in response to the concerns raised, she said.
Enhance connectivity
Another issue needing attention is traffic congestion and the measures needed to reduce it.
Tan said she hoped that DBKL could come up with a traffic master plan for Cheras, which has seen a surge in vehicles in recent years.
She also said more pedestrian walkways and bridges should be built linking LRT and MRT stations with residential areas to encourage more people to use public transport and reduce the number of cars on the roads.
Lee, meanwhile, called on the authorities to stop building highways, because such projects were bringing more traffic into Kuala Lumpur.
“They are causing more vehicles to spill onto city roads, which can no longer be widened, thus worsening congestion.” — By FARID WAHAB
