DECISION makers should give the people of Federal Territories and the surrounding areas more public green spaces and better connectivity, said Dr Ong Kian Ming the former Member of Parliament for Bangi.
As a regular runner and fitness enthusiast, he said he was thankful for the many public parks and places in KL and Putrajaya.
These include the Bukit Jalil stadium, Bukit Jalil recreation park, the area around the Putrajaya/Cyberjaya lake, the TTDI and Bukit Kiara Park and trails, Lake Gardens (or Taman Botani Perdana) and the Taman Tugu Park.
There are also parks on private property which the public can enjoy at KLCC and TRX and soon, the area around Menara 118.
"From the number of people who use these facilities, especially during weekends and public holidays, there is a demand for more such places, equipped with good public facilities.
"Taman Tugu, when it was first conceived by Khazanah, was meant to be expanded to cover a larger area in Bukit Tunku including the areas just outside the parliament.
"Given that much of this land is already owned by the government, it would not be prohibitively expensive for the government to give Khazanah, under the Taman Tugu trust, to expand its area of coverage," he said in a statement.
Another idea, said Ong, could be to convert part or all of the former Sungai Besi air base which was initially supposed to be developed into Bandar Malaysia into a huge public park to rival that of Central Park in New York and make it into a much larger botanical gardens that will also be a tourist destination.
Ong said this park can be connected to the KL Hokkien Cemetery so that these aspects of the heritage of KL can also be promoted and celebrated to a larger audience.
In addition to these public green spaces, he said FT also needs better connectivity.
"We can envision the model that has been used by Singapore via its Park Connector Network (PCN) where the areas alongside rivers, underneath the MRT lines and in between residential areas are connected and expanded to be used for walking, jogging, and cycling.
"Currently, we have a River of Life path that is cut off by construction and buildings and is not used by many people,".
Ong suggested expanding the River of Life (RoL) project beyond the current boundaries from Masjid Jamek to Mid Valley Megamall to incorporate the northern and southern portions of the Klang and Gombak rivers.
He said this RoL path can be connected to existing and new roads and bridges to allow the public to walk to different parts of KL in a safe and protected manner.
"Similar parks and connectors, on a smaller scale, can also be designed and rolled out in Labuan to host national and international triathlons, trail runs, cycle and running events.
"We should not think of FT day as just a holiday for those living in KL, Putrajaya and Labuan but an opportunity to think about how to rethink the ways we design, use, live, work, and play in our cities," he added. - The Vibes, February 1, 2024
