‘Public transport first’

> KL mayor says no parking bay plan will follow only after MRT is completed

KUALA LUMPUR: Mayor Datuk Seri Amin Nordin Ab Aziz has assured Kuala Lumpur motorists that its move to disallow parking bays in the city will be implemented only after the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network is ready.

As of now, Amin Nordin said, everything is still in the planning phase and the proposed plan is meant for the city’s future development.

“Once the MRT is ready, then probably we won’t need those parking bays any more,” he said during the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) Labour Day celebration yesterday.

Asked on what DBKL would do about the lack of parking space for commuters at train stations, Amin Nordin said the matter was for the Land Public Transport Commission or Prasarana to solve.

On Tuesday, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor revealed that DBKL is looking at ways to disallow parking bays in new buildings.

He explained that the move was meant to reduce traffic congestion and to further encourage people to use public transport.

He added that the policy of not having parking bays in a building has become a trend of developed cities like Tokyo and that Kuala Lumpur should follow suit.

Meanwhile, when asked if the move would impact shopping malls and other commercial buildings, he reiterated that the idea is still in the planning stage.