Vehicles parked along Jalan SK10/4 after the site in Jalan SK10/3 was cordoned off. — Low Lay Phon/The Star
Closure of an open-air carpark at Jalan SK10/3, Seri Kembangan New Village in Selangor, for a planned commercial project has nearby traders complaining of a drop in business.
Trader Wong Chun Choong said his earnings had fallen by 30% in the past two weeks.
“Customers don’t want to come here due to insufficient parking,” he said during a press conference at Bangunan MCA Seri Kembangan.
“This has caused a significant decrease in my income.”
Siew Ki proposes opening up parking facilities at MBSJ’s multipurpose hall to the public.Traditional Chinese medicine practitioner Lim Boon Tong said many of his patients had mobility issues and parking was a major issue.
“Now that nearby lots are not available, patients have problems parking a long distance away and walking to my premises,” he said.
“If the project takes three years to complete, do we have to shut down for three years due to lack of customers?”
Tsen Sin Fatt said he had expected his prayer goods business to peak this month due to the Hungry Ghost festival.
“However, lack of parking has driven customers away.”
Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) said a three-storey commercial development with parking bays had been approved on the 0.28ha lot.
Meanwhile, at a press conference yesterday, Seri Kembangan assemblyman Wong Siew Ki said discussions were ongoing to open MBSJ’s multipurpose hall carpark on Jalan Besar to the public.
A separate proposal to expand parking there is also being considered.
“This is the only parcel of land still owned by the state, as everything else around has been privatised.
“We are discussing if more parking can be added,” she said.
Fencing around the proposed commercial development site has also narrowed Jalan SK10/3 and SK10/4, making it harder for heavy vehicles to pass.
MCA Seri Kembangan chairman Chin Toong Kang said the situation had made it more difficult for lorries to load and unload goods.
“Accidents have also happened,” he said.
During a site visit, StarMetro found that some space on Jalan SK10/3 was taken up by barriers while vehicles were also seen parking by Jalan SK10/3 and Jalan SK10/4, making both roads narrower.
Puchong MCA chairman Datuk Liew Yuen Keong said they had met Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari’s political secretary Saifuddin Shafi Muhammad to voice their objections to the commercial development project.
“The MB’s office has sent a letter to Selangor legal advisor Datuk Salim Soib @ Hamid on July 31, asking him to look into the matter.”
StarMetro had previously reported on the plight of market traders following the closure of the open-air carpark.
They had been relocated from Pasar Awam SK10, which is awaiting redevelopment.
Traders who were relocated to a temporary site in Jalan SK6/1 as well as their customers had also been using the open-air carpark.
Now that it has been fenced off, they too complained about the drop in business.
Another issue raised by traders was the delay in rebuilding the public market.
MBSJ said in a statement that work was expected to start early next year, and the project would take 24 months.
The RM12mil market is proposed as a modern facility with a ground floor dedicated to wet goods and fresh produce and an upper floor for dry goods, food stalls and communal space.
