PETALING JAYA, 9 July: Any application of projects for areas under the administration of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) after this will be discussed with other developers to avoid development that is not consistent with the traffic situation.
The MBPJ Mayor, Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad, said that this is following the principles of placemaking; a foundation which will be used to achieve integrated land use planning with transportation.
She said that the city’s development must be planned together with space and humans to avoid overcrowding.
“If the city is designed for vehicles and traffic, then there will be overcrowding.
“On the other hand, there will not be congestion if we plan for humans and space. Therefore, we want to choose a road design for human comfort,” she said.
Alinah said that the land use planning will be implemented together with the road and transport planning to achieve comfort for the people at a minimal cost.
She said that in line with rapid development, Petaling Jaya will be developed with the concept of ‘smart growth’ and ‘compact city’.
“Vertical development will be encouraged so that space can be saved and used for providing public facilities.
“Space, which all this while has been used to park private cars can be used for public facilities such as for recreation or a public hall. The limits of land use development will be determined by the ability of the existing infrastructure,” she said.
She said that the concept will adopt a strategy through planning that implements a mixed concept and the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD).
“TOD will improve mobility by providing ‘feeder service’, pedestrian walks, the provision of public and social facilities, such as bike paths, as well as development based on the green building method,” she said.
She said that MBPJ is committed in implementing principles of sustainable development in Petaling Jaya.
“The ‘PJ Sustainable 2030’ planning policy framework sets five main directions. These are sustainable development, economic competitiveness, cultural and community harmony, liveable city and good governance,” she said.
So far, MBPJ has implemented a number of measures, including the community bus service, PWD transit vans, free bus service, the construction of park-n-ride and free electric car charging.
NS
