The long wait

Many residents in BK 3 are losing their patience with SPNB (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad), especially when they saw some LRT track preliminary work had started in our area.

A big pile of sand at green lung area, and some digging work

There were drilling frames for soil investigation work at our area for quite some time now. At certain areas the workers had even started to do some digging work to lay the underground cables.

Cable laying work

This morning there was a land surveyor doing some surveying at the green lung area. Obviously he was doing some surveying work for the new LRT extension.

Land surveyor doing work and soil investigation work

The residents had actually met and talked to SPNB three times since the LRT track and station no. 5 issues arose.

Just a few days ago SPNB had told us their consultants are finalizing their alternative proposals with a few options regarding realignment of LRT track and possible relocation of station no. 5.

SPNB had given us assurance no actual construction work will begin until our issues are settled.

We were also told SPNB will submit their proposals to MPSJ some time next week. After which a meeting will be held between BK 3 residents, SPNB and MPSJ to discuss the issues. Eventually MPSJ will have the final say on all the proposals.

There is still a long way to go...

Work on LRT started in BK 3?

Some of the residents may be wondering when they see workers starting to do some work at BK 3 area. Has work on LRT started?

Soil testing in front of "Tak Nak LRT station 5" poster

The workers are actually doing some soil investigation to estimate the depth of piles required for LRT construction work. It is some kind of preliminary work to any type of construction.

So it a way, yes, the construction work has started for the new LRT extension.

Many residents may also notice some tents set up by the workers. The workers are actually "camping" at our area while doing their work.

Temporary "homes" set up by workers at the playground

At the "camp site" the Bangladeshi workers cook and eat their meals, take bath, wash and hang their clothes between the trees to dry. I don't know how people can live in such a condition, but this is how some of the foreign workers are treated in our country, while trying to make our lives better.

Camp site?

The talk between SPNB (Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad) and the residents is still on. While the residents are still waiting for an answer from them regarding our concern, one has to wonder if they have quietly gone ahead and stick to their original plan.

Let's hope that is not the case.

Just say "NO"

Everyone wants the convenience of a LRT station close to their area. I imagine the residents in BK 3 feel the same way. However, the convenience of having a LRT station here comes with a price.

When the LRT track runs through BK 3, it will encroach into our green lung area, and station no. 5 will be right at our door steps. I have no idea why the planner or designer decided to do it that way. Obviously not much thought was put into considering the effect of all these to the residents around that area.

If the plan materialized, the negative impacts will be there. All the social ills, security problems, traffic congestion, parking woes and noise pollutions that are common to commercial area will eventually be part of our lives here in BK 3.

In fact, BK 3 will be turned into a public area. It will definitely become more like a commercial area than a residential area. 

Posters put up by residents

Some residents have already started an awareness campaign to let everyone understand the problem. We all know that with the support of the residents, something can still be done.

We are not really against the LRT line extension. It is just not right to put so little thought into planning a project of such magnitude, that affects people's life in a negative way. Better options are clearly available.

The LRT track should be realigned away from our green lung area, to the middle of Bukit Jalil highway. The trees at green lung area actually act as a buffer zone that cut off the noise and dust pollution from Bukit Jalil highway. They should be preserved.

We also don't need station no. 5 in our area. If the residents need to use the LRT, station no. 4 in BK 2 is just walking distance away. There is really no reason to have two stations so close to each other right at our area. It is a waste of tax payers' money.

Realignment of tracks and relocation of station no. 5

If station no. 5 is to be constructed, we think it will be better if it is relocated further down the highway towards IOI direction. That way the station can cater to more passengers from housings like Puchong Jaya, Taman Tenaga and so on, without directly affecting any of the residential areas.

The concern was also recently raised up and reported in several news papers like The Star and Sin Chew daily.

Some residents have in fact met and carried out a dialogue with Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (SPNB) regarding our concern. SPNB had also visited our area to understand our problem.

They have promised to restudy the whole thing and give an answer to the residents in a few weeks time. So far however there is still no reply from them.

We certainly hope that SPNB can give us a satisfactory answer. Only then we can ensure BK 3 remain the way it is, a quiet and peaceful neighbourhood. 

At this moment we can only wait with our fingers crossed, praying for the best.

It is the little things that count.

BK 3 is a considerable low density residential area with simple amenities. Life is peaceful and quiet around here.

We are blessed to have a large playground with open green area that has a football field and a basketball court. For a small housing like ours, I must say our green area size is the envy of many others.

Large green area and playground

In the morning we can see people jogging and walking at the track around the park, or groups doing their exercises.

There are even more people in the evening, either playing a game of football or basketball. There are also kids playing at the playground and youngsters riding bicycles at the track. It is full of life.

Football field

BK 3 also connects easily to other areas. From Bukit Jalil highway we can get to KL, Sunway, IOI, Kesas highway and Shah Alam. The other direction in housing roads we can get to Jalan Puchong , Old Klang road and then PJ easily.

Unfortunately, no housing is perfect. Ours have some shortcomings as well.

There are only two entry-and-exit points for BK 3. One to Bukit Jalil highway and the other via Jalan Kinrara 4 to Jalan Puchong. Although we can get to other places easily, we must use either of this points.

BK 3 with two entry-and-exit points

That becomes a problem during morning rush hours, when parents are sending their kids to school, and residents going off to work. Two entry-and-exit points are just not enough for our housing.

In addition, with the newly open Kesas highway access road at Kinrara interchage to Old Klang Road, the outside traffic going through BK 3 and Jalan Kinrara 4 leading up to that access has also increased tremendously, making getting out of BK 3 more unbearable at times.

Traffic in the morning

On top of that roadside parking is also a big concern for our residents. With mostly landed properties, BK 3 does however has a few apartment blocks. We all know very well no apartment will ever have enough parking spaces for their residents. The apartment residents have no choice but to park their cars outside of their compound.

Road side parking

Jalan BK 3/7 facing Kasturi apartment in particular has this big parking problem. Being a very narrow street, with cars parking at both sides of the road, it can only allow one car to pass at anytime. This makes driving on that road a test of patience for most of the drivers.

Two way street blocked by parked cars

We must bear in mind that the future LRT station no. 5 is not only catered to the residents of BK 3. Anyone from nearby housings like Puchong Jaya, Taman Kinrara and Taman Bukit Kuchai for example will want to use the station as well.   

The only way they can reach the station is driving into BK 3. 
 

Morning traffic

While some of outsiders will pass by and drop off or pick up their family members, there are others who will just take advantage of the FREE parking at our road side.

Now imagine for a second our roads all jammed up with the additional traffic, and our roadside full of outsiders' cars. This is not how a residential housing should look like.

Besides traffic and parking, there is also a concern of noise pollution created by the new LRT trains.

It is not as quiet as you think.

If the new LRT tracks and station no. 5 are at our green lung area, residents who stay a few rows away can probably still hear the squeaking sound when the train handles the curves, breaking or starting off from a station.

SPNB will want you to believe the modern LRT is very quiet, but reality tells us otherwise.

Don't forget LRT runs from early morning until late hours, weekdays  and also on weekends.  So there will always be traffic coming in and out, cars parked in front of our houses, and squeaking sound most times of the day, everyday of the week.

If that is the case, all the little things we always enjoy and take granted for in BK 3 area, will be gone forever.

How will BK 3 look like in the future?

It is hard for anyone of us to picture in our mind what a LRT station will look like in our area, with the trees gone replaced by LRT tracks and station.

With my visit to existing stations and the plans of new station that I manage to obtain. I pretty much have an idea how the whole thing will look like.

From SPNB's website, we can see the artist's illustration of the station. It is a very modern tube-like station. The station is 94 metres long and 27 metres wide.

New Ampang line LRT station

The illustration is just a standard station. Each station in fact will be slightly different because of  height, support system, and so on.

We have also obtained a copy of the construction drawing for station no. 5.

From the side view, it is really surprising when I see that the distance between road level to station platform is around 19 metres, and another 11 metres to the roof top, for the total height of 30 metres.

What do all these numbers mean? Well, for those who are not that familiar with numbers, one storey of a highrise building is around 3 metres (10 feet). In other words, station no. 5 from road level to roof top is a whopping 10 STOREY HIGH!

Side view of station no. 5 in BK 3

Take a look at another view cutting across the station below. This is the view looking towards Bandar Sunway.

We can really see clearly how half of the station sits on top of our green lung area, and the other half on Bukit Jalil highway. It also has a walkway for passengers to cross the highway to the industrial area on the other side.

Now, notice how close our residents' houses are to the station? It is just across a narrow road. Also take a good look at the size comparison, the station is GIGANTIC compared to the single storey house.

Section view of station no. 5 in BK 3

Take a minute or two to process all these information in your mind.

Seriously, would anyone want a 10 storey high structure in front of their houses?

If I further marked the station and tracks on the photos I have taken earlier, we can really feel the presence of the station. It is not pretty.

Station no. 5 right opposite residential houses

Location of station no. 5 in BK 3 in green lung area

Unless something is done, this is what we will be facing in 2012. No more green trees, but concrete jungles instead.

No worries, you said...

With the impending construction of LRT station no. 5 in BK 3 very soon, what is going to happen to our neighborhood in the future?

The residents must understand once the structure is built, it will be permanent. There will be no going back telling SPNB we don't want it anymore, it will be there forever.

Let's start by looking at some of the issues that may arise, starting with security.

No one can deny that there is a crime problem in our area. There were never ending break-ins after break-ins. Every time you talk to someone from our area you hear new stories. Many cases even happened during day time, with residents inside their houses.

 

My own house was broken into a couple of years ago. A brand new laptop that just arrived a few days before was taken, together with some other valuables. 

Luckily none of us was at home during that time. So we came away with some losses but no one got hurt.

Others were not so lucky. Recent news reported an old man was set on fire and burnt to death by burglars in Perak. Another piece of news reported a housewife was gang raped by eight intruders in Johor. 

These are just a few of the daily occurrences we find reported in the newspaper. In actual fact there are many more. Although some of these crimes happened not in our area, it can actually happen here.

Just the other day one of my neighbors went out briefly to get "nasi lemak" early in the morning. When she came back she saw a motorbike parked in front of her house.

One moment later an intruder walked out from her house carrying laptops, handphones and some other valuables, hopped on the bike and rode off.

All these happened right before her eyes. She yelled and horned but the intruder was just ignoring her. Believe it or not, all these happened while her husband and kids were still sleeping inside her house.

Another neighbor also told me there was this one time after she parked her car in front of her house, got out, a guy riding a motorbike approached her right away with a "parang". Thank god she was not hurt but her purse and handphone were taken. Her family had since moved away.

There are many similar stories.  

Why do you think there are suddenly so many residents having dogs in their houses? Yes, there are many dog lovers out there, but the main reason is to scare off intruders.

BK 3 residents in general has been the target of burglars for the fact that there are just too many entrances to our area where outside intruders can come and go as they please. 

So what has that got to do with the new LRT station?

  

Basically it is very simple, security will get worse once the new station no. 5 is constructed here in BK 3. 

With a LRT station here, BK 3 will become a public area. Anyone can come in and out as they wish. We no longer can question why that motorbike is circling our area all the time, or why a stranger is driving a car through BK 3 so frequently. They will say they are going to the station and there is nothing we can do about it.

We can no longer control who goes in and out of BK 3 area.

We can also forget about hiring security guard service for our area anymore. It is not going to work with so many outsiders in our area. No security guard will be able to do the job.

While all these may sound scary, it is something that we must really think about if we want a LRT station here in BK 3. It is already a proven fact that with a LRT station so close to the residential area, crime rate increases.

Still no worries?

Bangsar LRT station

To satisfy my own curiosity, I want to see first hand what a LRT station looks like. Of course I have seen a LRT station before, but this time I will pay more attention to the details.

I am interested in particular one that is quite similar to the future station no. 5 in BK 3, elevated over a multi-lane highway.

And I found one in Bangsar.

Bangsar LRT station sits on top of Jalan Bangsar. Not exactly a highway but also has a few lanes of traffic running both directions.

The support system and size of the station is also quite similar to station no. 5 that we are getting in BK 3.

So I went for a drive. As I was approaching Bangsar LRT station, I could see the LRT tracks. It was easily 12 metre or 4 storeys high. If I am not wrong, the track around BK 3 area will be even higher at about 15 to 16 metres in height, or around 5 to 6 storeys high.

Looking at the track, I ask myself does anyone want this as the view in front of their houses instead of some green trees for the rest of their lives? I think everyone will agree with me the answer will be a very resounding NO. No one in their right mind will ever want that.

The next thing I notice was it got very dark underneath the station, almost like a tunnel. In fact I felt like I was driving through a tunnel when passing underneath the station.

There are plenty of taxis idling there waiting to pick up passengers. Not only taxis, passenger cars as well. I didn't stay there for long, as the air quality was not really that great.

I can feel that the ventilation was not good in the tunnel-like structure underneath the station. With all the exhaust from the cars and taxis, it gets worse.

I was trying to think where I have seen a station with long lines of cars parking, waiting to pick up people at the drop off zone. I know I have seen it somewhere before. Then I remember it was Kelana Jaya station.

Although that station has a drop-and-ride system at one side, there are always long line of taxis and cars PARKING at the drop off zone waiting to pick people up, causing very bad traffic jams in LDP any time of the day.

Station no. 5 in BK 3 is also a designed drop-and-ride system. I can foresee there will be long lines of taxis and passenger cars parking at the drop off zone already.  

Bukit Jalil highway will eventually become a second LDP. That is not a very pleasing thought.

I walked pass outside of the station area.

Even on a Sunday, I could see cars are parking at the back of other cars. This is not a good sign. I am starting to wonder what will happen to future station no. 5 in BK 3. Will people park their cars indiscriminately in front of our houses?

As I kept on walking farther, I was finally far enough to take in the whole view of the GIGANTIC station. I must admit the station with it's support system was much bigger than I think. In my mind I kept having this image of a tiny little bus-stop-like station that will be the future station no. 5 in BK 3. I was wrong. If station no. 5 is similar to Bangsar station, the station will be HUGE!

On the way home, I just couldn't erase the image of the LRT tracks and station no. 5 a few feet away in front of our houses in BK 3, replacing the trees in the green lung area. Will the quiet neigborhood of BK 3 be the same residential area that it is now?

I drove away with more questions than answers.