Road closed for five years
THE STAR
The KLCC multi-level parking lot has been closed to the public for the past month to make way for the construction of the S17 KLCC East (KLE) MRT Station. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
THE long-term traffic management plan in Persiaran KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, for the construction of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line, has thrown a curveball at stakeholders in the area.
A 180m-stretch in Persiaran KLCC (formerly known as Jalan Binjai), between the traffic lights in front of PNB Perdana Hotel & Suites On The Park Kuala Lumpur to the traffic lights at the entrance to the KLCC underground carpark, will be closed for a five-year period.
There will also be a realignment of Jalan Lumba Kuda, involving a 170m-stretch, until Feb 28, 2017.
The traffic management plan was implemented on Oct 1.
MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd (MGKT) said the closure was per the Federal Government Gazette and was approved by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“The traffic management plan is critical to facilitate the construction of the S17 KLCC East (KLE) MRT Station which is one of the 11 underground stations under the SSP alignment.
"The closures will be implemented until December 2021,” MGKT said in a statement.
It added that the closure and traffic management plan had been communicated to stakeholders via private and group engagements since June.
However, some have lamented that the long-term closure would “suffocate” the already congested area.
PNB Perdana Hotel and Suites On The Park Kuala Lumpur head of marketing and communications Zaid Jamaludin said the hotel worried about how guests would get to the property.
“The hotel can only be accessed via Persiaran KLCC/Jalan Binjai, but limiting the entry to one entrance will make it more inconvenient to guests and staff.
“The entry and exit from Jalan Tun Razak to Persiaran KLCC/Jalan Binjai is used most often. With the closure, they will have to turn in from Jalan Ampang which is further,” he said.
Zaid added they had requested that directional signs to the hotel be placed but this had not been done.
“We have taken steps to inform our guests accordingly, but will have to see its full impact in the days to come,” he said, adding that most stakeholders in the area were against the closure.
Troika Sky Dining director Eddie Chew said limiting access to the area to only one entry would jeopardise businesses there.
“The Troika itself has three restaurants and two bars, so easy access for our guests is vital. This will surely impact the other commercial and residential buildings here,” he said.
Chew added that an engagement session with the project proponents turned out to be a one-way meeting.
“We had offered several suggestions, such as conducting the closure in stages, but they cited security and safety issues that necessitated the full closure,” he said.
Apart from the disruption of the road closure, several members of the public said the sudden closure of the KLCC multi-level parking lot near Troika to facilitate the construction of the MRT station would be an expensive affair especially in terms of parking.
The parking lot is owned by KLCC Property Holdings Berhad.
A regular visitor to the area, salesman Adrian Lim said the parking lot was one of the cheaper alternatives to park.
“As I usually have several appointments a week at various buildings along Jalan Binjai, I find it convenient to park there.
“But now, I will have to resort to parking in one of the buildings which means a steep increase in parking charges,” he said.
Previously, it only cost RM3 per hour to park there. This was significantly cheaper compared to other places such as the KLCC underground carpark which charges RM5 per hour on weekdays.
Friends Anna Toh and Renuka Nair said the closure of the roads and parking lot would make it more difficult to access the KLCC Park where they jogged.
“We are training for several upcoming runs, so we come here several times a week to use the jogging track.
Motorists from Jalan Stonor and those exiting the KLCC underground carpark will not be able to access Jalan Binjai, but will have to exit to Jalan Tun Razak. — RICKY LAI/The Star
“The track is the only one at a public park which has the rubberised material, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), which is suitable for training.
“We used to park at the white parking lot as it had easy access to the park and was cheaper than parking at the KLCC underground carpark or at the other commercial buildings.
“Now, it could cost us almost three times what we used to pay if we were to park in the area,” Toh said.
Renuka added that the road closures would be particularly disruptive on weekday mornings, when they trained, and they would have to look for alternative parks to do their runs.
The KLCC multi-level parking lot has been closed to the public for the past month to make way for the construction of the S17 KLCC East (KLE) MRT Station. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
THE long-term traffic management plan in Persiaran KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, for the construction of the MRT Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line, has thrown a curveball at stakeholders in the area.
A 180m-stretch in Persiaran KLCC (formerly known as Jalan Binjai), between the traffic lights in front of PNB Perdana Hotel & Suites On The Park Kuala Lumpur to the traffic lights at the entrance to the KLCC underground carpark, will be closed for a five-year period.
There will also be a realignment of Jalan Lumba Kuda, involving a 170m-stretch, until Feb 28, 2017.
The traffic management plan was implemented on Oct 1.
MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd (MGKT) said the closure was per the Federal Government Gazette and was approved by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“The traffic management plan is critical to facilitate the construction of the S17 KLCC East (KLE) MRT Station which is one of the 11 underground stations under the SSP alignment.
"The closures will be implemented until December 2021,” MGKT said in a statement.
It added that the closure and traffic management plan had been communicated to stakeholders via private and group engagements since June.
However, some have lamented that the long-term closure would “suffocate” the already congested area.
PNB Perdana Hotel and Suites On The Park Kuala Lumpur head of marketing and communications Zaid Jamaludin said the hotel worried about how guests would get to the property.
“The hotel can only be accessed via Persiaran KLCC/Jalan Binjai, but limiting the entry to one entrance will make it more inconvenient to guests and staff.
“The entry and exit from Jalan Tun Razak to Persiaran KLCC/Jalan Binjai is used most often. With the closure, they will have to turn in from Jalan Ampang which is further,” he said.
Zaid added they had requested that directional signs to the hotel be placed but this had not been done.
“We have taken steps to inform our guests accordingly, but will have to see its full impact in the days to come,” he said, adding that most stakeholders in the area were against the closure.
Troika Sky Dining director Eddie Chew said limiting access to the area to only one entry would jeopardise businesses there.
“The Troika itself has three restaurants and two bars, so easy access for our guests is vital. This will surely impact the other commercial and residential buildings here,” he said.
Chew added that an engagement session with the project proponents turned out to be a one-way meeting.
“We had offered several suggestions, such as conducting the closure in stages, but they cited security and safety issues that necessitated the full closure,” he said.
Apart from the disruption of the road closure, several members of the public said the sudden closure of the KLCC multi-level parking lot near Troika to facilitate the construction of the MRT station would be an expensive affair especially in terms of parking.
The parking lot is owned by KLCC Property Holdings Berhad.
A regular visitor to the area, salesman Adrian Lim said the parking lot was one of the cheaper alternatives to park.
“As I usually have several appointments a week at various buildings along Jalan Binjai, I find it convenient to park there.
“But now, I will have to resort to parking in one of the buildings which means a steep increase in parking charges,” he said.
Previously, it only cost RM3 per hour to park there. This was significantly cheaper compared to other places such as the KLCC underground carpark which charges RM5 per hour on weekdays.
Friends Anna Toh and Renuka Nair said the closure of the roads and parking lot would make it more difficult to access the KLCC Park where they jogged.
“We are training for several upcoming runs, so we come here several times a week to use the jogging track.
Motorists from Jalan Stonor and those exiting the KLCC underground carpark will not be able to access Jalan Binjai, but will have to exit to Jalan Tun Razak. — RICKY LAI/The Star
“The track is the only one at a public park which has the rubberised material, EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer), which is suitable for training.
“We used to park at the white parking lot as it had easy access to the park and was cheaper than parking at the KLCC underground carpark or at the other commercial buildings.
“Now, it could cost us almost three times what we used to pay if we were to park in the area,” Toh said.
Renuka added that the road closures would be particularly disruptive on weekday mornings, when they trained, and they would have to look for alternative parks to do their runs.
