KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — Residents of Desa Sri Hartamas and Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh gathered today to object to a proposed development plan that they say will contribute to the traffic congestion in the area.
Their worries began when residents spotted an inconspicuous noticeboard shielded by trees along Jalan Seri Hartamas 22 during the recent Hari Raya Haji weekend.
The noticeboard also displayed a picture suggesting a high-rise office building and a condominium will be built on the land.
Jalan Sri Hartamas 22 is the main road lined with eateries and condominiums that leads to the SPRINT Highway and Segambut Dalam.
“The local plan shows this particular lot is gazetted as a commercial lot with a plot ratio of 1:4.
“But the plot ratio on the noticeboard has been changed to 1:7.55, almost doubling the original ratio of the land.
“When you come here in the early morning or evening, you will see that the congestion is bad.
“On top of that, there’s a police station and fire station nearby that need to respond to emergencies, and it cannot take this road due to the congestion,” Yeoh said.
She also expressed concern about the apparent absence of impact assessment for the proposed development, saying there was already an oversupply of commercial and residential properties in the Klang Valley.
Yeoh said that although there is a new redevelopment guideline from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) that allows “brownfield land” such as abandoned land, former industrial areas, and utility land to be considered for a higher plot ratio, it was still against the objective of raising the quality of life for the area’s residents.
“There’s no way a higher plot ratio here will increase the quality of life of our residents because of the congestion that is already here,” she added.
It is understood that the proposed development plan involves land with a water sewage facility.
Furthermore, she asked why the government is not using the land to build public utilities such as a station for the MRT3 line instead of selling it for commercial development.
Multiple local representatives also spoke about the negative impact that a high-density development plan would have on the already congested road.
“During peak hours, between 5.30pm and 7.30pm, on the SPRINT highway turning to Jalan 48/78, the residents here take up to 45 minutes just to reach home, for a journey that would otherwise take 10 minutes by foot,” said Lavinia Kumaraendran, president of Desa Sri Hartamas Residents Association.
In addition, president of Desa Sri Hartamas Owners and Traders Association Abu Bakar Ibrahim said that DBKL should conduct a traffic impact assessment, environment impact assessment, and social impact assessment of the proposed development plan to make sure that the neighbourhood remains liveable.
They also complained that the mixed development project was going against their expectation of Sri Hartamas as an area of low-density buildings, citing that the proposed 50- to 70-storey condominium was too high compared to nearby buildings that are only 10- to 20-storeys tall.
