The Petaling Jaya 1 local plan draft covers slightly more than 2,000 hectares of area with PJ State and Old Town earmarked as the central development and redevelopment area to be known as PJ New Town.

The draft plan is the first of four scheduled under the Petaling and part of Klang District Structure Plan (masterplan) for gradual implementation by the PJ Municipal Council (MPPJ).

It must first be endorsed through public participation before it can be gazetted by the state, and it is currently at the public objection stage. (The legality of the draft plan is also being doubted. See Plan to redevelop PJ may be illegal

).

Major proposals in the draft plan include several flyovers, upgrading/widening of roads, extension of the New Pantai Expressway, change in land use, a common utility tunnel, massive landscaping of public areas and a centralised transportation terminal centre near Armada Hotel.

Basically, the MPPJ plans to give the satellite township an overall modern look and the breezy feel of a progressive metropolis, with focus on the zone called Pusat Bandar Separa Wilayah (central sub-district) encompassing Section 52 and parts of Sections 8 and 14.

One of the more substantive proposals in the draft plan is the conversion of land use from residential to limited commercial use for institution or for services.

In the category for limited commercial use as an institution, a residential unit can be turned into, among others, a hostel or youth club, art gallery, private health facility, charity/welfare home, government office and places of worship.

In the draft plan, the MPPJ stated that demand was generally high for such land use, especially along Jalan Utara, Jalan Timur, Jalan SS2/24, Jalan Universiti, Jalan Kemajuan, Jalan Gasing, Jalan Selangor, Jalan SS9A/1, Jalan Othman, Jalan Templer and Jalan Pasar.

The second category of limited commercial use for services includes workers hostel, public park, bio-technology lab and R&D; facility, entertainment outlets, restaurant, kindergarten, workshop, banks, service apartment, hospital and hypermarket.

The affected areas are Section 19, residential lots fronting the Federal Highway 2 in sections 51A and 51, and Section 13 (which has a separate structure plan since it is a light industrial zone expected to be released next month).

Green lung protected

In a nutshell, residential redevelopment is proposed for sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 17A and SS9A which are mainly older housing areas, as well as Section 19 which has a small squatter colony. The stated aim is to prevent flooding and haphazard housing, as well as to improve the visual quality of the area.

Apart from that, a centralised public transport terminal, together with a five-storey carpark incorporating a commercial complex, will also take shape in Section 52 (near Armada Hotel) for minibuses, express buses and taxis.

To overcome burst pipes, water shortages, electricity cuts, telephone line problems, gas and sewerage connections in PJ, the MPPJ has proposed an extensive network of a common utility tunnel to house all pipes and cables.

It has also given an assurance in the local plan draft to PJ residents that Gasing Hill and other green lung areas will be maintained and protected. There is currently a total of 71 recreational and open areas.

The draft plan states that at least 70 percent of the recreational area within the proposed development area will be preserved as a green lung with any related development to be done professionally.

But the proposed changes to infrastructure, such as turning some main roads into two-, four- and six-lane dual-carriageways as well as changing the traffic system in Section 52 into one-way, have raised grave concerns among most residents.

Two proposed roads will link Jalan Penchala and Jalan Railway (2/28), and Jalan 51A/223 and Jalan 14/1, while flyovers have been proposed for the three main roundabouts  Jalan Templer, Jalan Gasing and Jalan Othman.

MPPJs assurances in the face of such changes do nothing to allay the fear among residents of losing what little green lung there is left in PJ, especially when they can see a half-completed highway hanging in mid-air just over the hill itself, waiting to connect to the PJ side.

In fact, residents are worried that the hill gazetted as a green belt in 1963 will be affected in some way to accommodate the construction of the half-completed RM505 million New Pantai Expressway which cuts through Gasing Indah.

The rationale for the proposed road projects is to ease congestion through a better traffic distribution within PJ, but residents think otherwise.

Inconsistent maps

According to the PJNet community website, the 19.6km New Pantai Expressway extends from Subang Jaya to Pantai Dalam in Kuala Lumpur and will have four toll plazas, one each in Taman Desaria, PJS 5, and Kampung Medan, PJS 2.

Another community website, USJ.com, reported that the three-lane dual carriageway was only 20 percent completed because of a temporary setback in 1998 due to the 1997 economic downturn, and that completion date initially slated for 2002, has been extended to March 2003.

A comparison of the maps and written proposals in the draft plan, however, only serves to add to the confusion, especially over information regarding proposed road projects and traffic dispersal plans.

In the area-based explanation on the proposed elevated interchanges, the draft plan states that only one proposed interchange will be built at the Jalan Othman roundabout, where Jalan Templer and Jalan Gasing meet. Only one map tallies with this.

However, the map on the proposed traffic and transportation development shows five elevated interchanges  three along Jalan Templer at the Penchala-Selangor-Othman roundabouts, and two along Jalan Universiti at Jalan 17/1 and Jalan Kemajuan-Jalan Dato Abu Bakar.

A few other maps also show parts of similar plans in the abovementioned locations.

The draft plan has also proposed several landmarks for PJ in the form of a Mini Universal Studio to be located at the existing Filem Negara Malaysia site, a Mini PJ Square (near Menara MPPJ) and a PJ Square (currently under construction at Jalan Padang Timur).

The different features in each square include an open mini-stage, mini-kiosks, shopping centre, basement carpark, art and culture gallery, food court, pedestrian walkway, a musical fountain, information centre and roadside cafes.

This is the third in a series of articles on the PJ1 local plan draft. The fourth part will appear tomorrow.