Skybridge to bring back happiness walking in KL

CAN you imagine our congested city of Kuala Lumpur being freed of the daily traffic chaos and the maddening crowds?

Would you like to have a pleasant stroll on a sheltered pedestrian walkway to get to work or shop in the city without the irritating hassle of driving around looking for a parking space with hundreds of other drivers competing with you in the traffic havoc?

Easy crossing: An existing skybridge near the Pavilion.

Imagine just parking your car at the Dataran Merdeka carpark and being able to walk in the comfort of a network of sheltered walkways, including a skybridge, to various destinations such as the Bangkok Bank vicinity, Kota Raya, Pudu Raya, the Chinatown in Petaling Street, Plaza Rakyat, Swiss Garden Hotel, Federal Hotel, Sungai Wang Plaza, right up to the Star Hill Centre.

Your stroll along the network of walkways will allow you to have some refreshing exercise, unhindered by billboards, potted plants, tables, chairs, beggars and illegal hawkers.

Your walk will also be made more pleasant with the presence of charming little kiosks located along the walkways, offering coffee, hot muffins, nasi lemak, delightful and delicious snacks which you can pick up on your way to the office.

If the innovative Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail has his way, such a scenario could one day be realised.

And private traffic consultant Goh Bok Yen certainly has some creative proposals to help Fuad to turn the densely-populated capital city into a pleasant place to live, work or shop.

Money, too, will not be a problem as the federal government has proposed an allocation of RM100mil under the mini-budget tabled in Parliament recently for the construction of skybridges and covered walkways between the buildings around the Golden Triangle area in the city.

Getting around the city will be easier as the artist’s impression of a covered walkway (left) shows. Currently, pedestrians have to brave the weather and the traffic to walk from one place to another (above). – The Star

Surely, with the government commitment, financial support from the corporate sector, plenty of research and detailed planning, such an ideal concept would be able to take concrete form.

“It is not too late to have such a network of walkways. In fact, it is time to implement such a pedestrian system as part and parcel of an integrated and sustainable public transport system,’’ Goh said.

It is common knowledge that the KL transport network of train, buses, and rail is not well co-ordinated, but Goh is confident that the situation could be rectified by linking it with a well-planned pedestrian network.

Fuad is determined to improve the city’s transport system by reversing the decline in public transport usage.

The mayor had said at a recent press conference that emphasis must be given to improving the public transport system in the city to ensure a private to public transport modal split of 60:40 by the year 2020.

Fuad had said that in the process of creating a comprehensive transport system, a well-planned pedestrian network is essential to complement the various transport modes to better enhance the system.

Goh has done some feasibility studies on the proposed pedestrian network system for the central business district (CBD) of the Golden Triangle, and has even submitted a report to the economic planning unit (EPU) on an elevated pedestrian network (EPN) several years ago.

According to Goh’s findings, having a good network of pedestrian walkways would help to divert intra-CBD short trips from the vehicular single mode such as cars, taxis, buses, or motorcycles.

“It all depends on how you view lost time and opportunity – the cost of fuel, parking charges, time wasted looking for parking space and being stuck in a traffic gridlock,” Goh said.

“People generally do not like to walk for more than a thousand metres, especially in our unpredictable weather, but if the walkways are air-conditioned or reasonably comfortable, I am sure many people will be willing to walk more than that distance,’’ he said.

“Some people are willing to walk because they know that they would probably reach their destination a whole lot faster than taking a taxi and getting stuck in traffic,’’ Goh said.

Indeed, the KL gridlock is costing the city millions of ringgit each day and according to a statement from the Association for the Improvement of Mass-Transit (TRANSIT) Klang Valley, congestion costs are leading to the loss of 2% of Malaysia’s GDP (about RM10bil) every year.

It is obvious that the traffic havoc problem needs to be resolved fast to improve the quality of life of city dwellers and workers, and a good network of walkways is certainly among the most essential and viable options to achieve that.

According to Goh, design too plays an important role. A good pedestrian system, he said, must have three main components: walkway, footbridge that links to the buildings, and a landing that provides ground level access to the walkway which can either be an escalator, stairway, and or pedestrian lifts.

And there is also a need to create activities along the walkways, like booths and kiosk providing a shopping alternative to the pedestrians. This will also provide an avenue for the KL City Hall (DBKL) to generate some revenue.

“The revenue from rental and advertising can be used to maintain the walkways and pay for electricity bills,” Goh said.

Goh is confident that such a pedestrian network is the most appropriate, or even the perfect, scheme for the KL central business hub around Bukit Bintang, and if the project is implemented well, it could even match those of Hong Kong’s Ocean Terminal and Toronto’s PATH system.

But having the system implemented is not good enough as the challenge lies in convincing and changing the mindset of the people to use it.

According to Goh, the Bukit Bintang Transportation Action Plan Study reported that less than 40% of pedestrians crossing between the Sungei Wang Plaza and Lot 10 at Jalan Sultan Ismail use the green footbridge, preferring to walk across six busy traffic lanes instead.

Factors like hot climate condition or torrential rain, noise and air pollution, frequent obstruction on footpaths and passengers queuing up at bus stops and taxi stands also discourage pedestrians from using the walkways.

One thing is certain, and that is, a good pedestrian system will not only benefit the people and generate business in the area but would also enhance the image of KL as a world-class city. (TheStar)