Residents of Jalan Kuang Gunung in Kepong are urging Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to speed up development of a 0.68ha neighbourhood park.
The area has several apartment blocks and terrace houses but has long lacked a public green space.
To access recreational parks, residents have to drive between 4km and 7km, making it difficult for senior citizens and those without private transport to get to green spaces.
Community activist Yee Poh Ping said the land had been earmarked for a public park about 15 years ago but had remained largely undeveloped.
He said residents hoped DBKL could expedite the process so that the site could be developed to make the environment more liveable for the community.
“The site was fenced off in 2022, but no substantial development followed,” he said.
In early February last year, DBKL held a consultation with residents to gather their views on the facilities they wanted at the proposed park.
Yee said work began last November, and had only been carried out intermittently since, with weeds flourishing whenever construction stopped.
The project was halted after earthworks allegedly caused drainage problems, resulting in flash flood at an apartment building behind the site.
Yee said the contractor appointed by DBKL resumed work on Aug 17 after he raised the matter with the authorities.
He said residents were also unhappy about the lack of a project information board at the site.
He suggested facilities such as public toilets, multipurpose area for exercise, dancing and badminton, outdoor gym and mini basketball court, as well as gazebos, seating areas and jogging track, be built.
Resident Yap Som Meng, who has lived in the area for 12 years, said residents were initially excited when they learned that a park would be built there.
“Workers levelled the land, but work stopped and the weeds grew again.
“Later, they returned to work, then stopped again,” he relayed.
“This happened repeatedly.”
