FAS field to be developed into a commercial hub

Thursday September 25, 2006 The Star

EVEN before the ongoing dispute over the daily traffic chaos at the Taman Megah Mas tunnel in Petaling Jaya could be resolved, residents in the area are bracing themselves for more traffic problems.

The 4.5ha football field of the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) in Kelana Jaya has been earmarked for the development of a commercial hub.

When works start on the project, the traffic situation in the area is expected to get worse. Similarly, when the project is completed, traffic in the area will certainly become chaotic.

Gone forever: The field would be making way for a new commercial hub, adding to the traffic woes faced by people living in the area.

A check by StarMetro at the site office of the project revealed that the sales brochures had been printed and about 50% of the first phase up for sale had been booked.

According to the glossy printed brochure, the development company is Mahsuri Kelana Sdn Bhd, a member of the Sima group.

The commercial hub known as the Parklane comprises 92 units of 4½- and 6½-storey SoHo (small office home office) duplex shopslots with a rooftop garden.

There is also an area for future development and the artist’s impression in the brochure visualised a multi-level commercial building.

“The traffic problems at our area has not been resolved even though we’ve been complaining to the MBPJ (Petaling Jaya City Council) for the past seven years,” Taman MegahMas resident Dr Chau Foong Yeap said.

Busy road: There is a high volume of traffic coming in and out of the tunnel every day.

Chau was referring to the tunnel connecting the area to Ara Damansara, currently the centre of controversy since it was closed on Sept 1 to facilitate traffic studies.

Another tunnel in front of the FAS field has been opened but this has not pacified the Ara Damansara residents, who have to take a 3.5km detour to use it.

With the cost of petrol having gone up, the extra burning of fuel to make the detour is certainly a big financial burden.

Moreover, the bottleneck created by the detour is slowing traffic and causes much waste in precious time.

“When the traffic is bad, we can’t even reverse the car out of our house in the mornings. Cars would honk at us if we tried. Residents of both sides are victims of the situation. We want a satisfactory solution,” said a Jalan Emas 2 resident, who declined to be named.

Fond memories: A file picture of a training session at the FAS field.

Residents are also concerned about the on-going development going on in Ara Damansara, which would obviously increase the traffic volume.

Taman Megah Mas and the surrounding areas were once a low-density housing area which has seen rapid development especially with the mushrooming of high-rise condominium blocks and commercial properties.

“We were not consulted about the development. The area is already so congested and the roads are too narrow. The LDP is always jammed up on in both directions and it is just going to get worse,” Taman Mayang RT chairman Chan Chow Wang said.

The MBPJ could not be reached to comment on the approval status of the commercial hub project.

Related story:
New facilities to be built for FAS