SG BULOH – Residents of several housing suburbs in Bukit Rahman Putra (BRP) want the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) and a developer to look at alternatives to creating an access road that will impact the only green lung they have.
The Save Padang BRP group that they have formed will hold a peaceful protest at Padang Awam BRP at about 8am this Saturday after letters sent to their MP, state assemblyman, the council, and even the Selangor menteri besar were to no avail.
Save Padang member Munis Muniandy said the protest aims to draw attention to the field and some 80 large, mature trees that must be chopped down to create the access road.
This is part of the council’s approval given to a developer for a project to build 2,000 apartment units for the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing Programme (PPA1M) – in addition to terraced houses and bungalows.
The construction is expected to add another 6,000 housing units to the area, which already has a population of 24,000, Munis told The Vibes.
Saturday’s protest is being prompted by red paint marks that appeared on the trees, as well as a signboard on the project near the field that residents noticed two weeks ago.
The public park and trees are a haven for joggers and those who come for morning qigong and dance exercises.
The green area also has exercise equipment, a children’s playground, a football field, covered basketball courts, as well as a badminton and sepak takraw court. It has also been gazetted as a green space in the council’s local plan.
“About 20% to 25% of the green area will be lost if the access road is created at the perimeter of the park,” said Munis, 54, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years and who is the Save Padang group’s media spokesman.
“Residents are disappointed that the Selayang Municipal Council is proceeding with the project despite our objections. We just want the council to sit down with us to discuss other alternatives that won’t affect the park.”
No resolution for traffic congestion
The proposed access road would be built on an existing tree-lined pathway that borders the 3.25ha park, which is located behind a secondary school, SMK Bukit Rahman Putra (SMKBRP).
Munis said residents have also come to learn about the school’s plans for a new car park behind it, which will also affect the park.
He said a new car park and the access road are unnecessary. Instead, the existing service road between the back of the school and the main road, Jalan BRP 7/1, could be improved with a drop-off/pick-up point and a covered walkway added. This would enable students to walk out to be picked up by their parents or school buses without any need to touch the park.
“This is just one of the other suggestions residents have, and we want the opportunity to talk to the council about it,” Munis said.
He also said the proposed access road around the park’s perimeter and behind the school would not help solve traffic congestion in the area, as claimed by the council, and would merely create bottlenecks at various road junctions in the area.
“There is no proper planning to ensure smooth flow of traffic,” Munis said, noting that the proposed slip roads are too close to traffic light intersections and that there is limited space for vehicles to make U-turns, while separate residential and shop lot areas will have to share the same entry and exit points.
Cost-cutting ‘solution’?
Residents also question the need for the access road by the park, as it is about 1km away from the new residential project, which will be on a large tract of Malay reserve land.
The upcoming project wants to use the main road at Jalan BRP 7/1 for access, and the proposed road by the park is meant to ease congestion there.
However, Munis noted that Jalan BRP 7/1 is also the only main access for all the housing suburbs in the area, namely, Taman BRP 7/1, Taman Canterbury, Taman Tiara Putra, Taman Tiara Puteri, Taman Tropika Putra, Taman Idaman Putra, Taman Aman Sari and Taman Azalea.
He said there is a better point for an access road elsewhere for the new residential project that would create a circular flow of traffic instead of jamming up roads in the immediate area, but this would be more costly.
“It’s obviously a cost-cutting solution for the developer,” he said.
“The proposed access road (by the park) will only deal with peak traffic during school hours and will not solve traffic congestion on main roads. Why should the park be sacrificed in that case?” Munis said.
Sacrificing the mature trees that fringe the park will also affect air quality in the locality and the health and well-being of park users and residents, he added.
Residents have been opposing plans that will affect the park since September 2019, when they were first informed of the project during a briefing by the Selayang Municipal Council with developer Pencala Jaya.
However, Munis said residents were excluded from meetings on the proposed master plan of the project, including plans that concern the roads in their area. Only SMKBRP and the developer met with the council on those matters, after which residents were informed of the proposed works.
In remarks to Star Metro on the matter, Paya Jaras assemblyman Mohd Khairuddin Othman was reported as saying that he would listen to their concerns about preserving the park while also taking into account the school’s need to address traffic congestion. – The Vibes, May 11, 2023
@coolmunny Please save our Padang BRP. MPS please stop cutting 80 beautiful trees that has been here for 25 years. Find a different way. The children and elderly use this Padang for all their recreational activities. #MPS #BRP #SaveourPadang ♬ Calm - Relaxing Music
