Finding new solutions: (From left) Teoh, Tan, Saw and Lee Kok Seng urging the Selangor government to improve public transport infrastructure and enhance parking safety measures following the recent incident at Glenmarie LRT station, where a lorry crashed into a car parked at the station. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
SHAH ALAM: The government has been urged to provide adequate parking at park-and-ride facilities around transport hubs such as LRT stations.
In a press conference at the Glenmarie LRT station here yesterday, MCA Youth secretary-general Saw Yee Fung called on the government to begin planning multilevel parking at train stations where demand is high.
She was responding to a June 25 incident near the station, where a passing trailer damaged five parked vehicles on a road that was made narrow by illegal parking on both sides.
Acknowledging that constructing car parks is not an overnight solution, Saw suggested some temporary measures such as utilising vacant plots near stations for additional parking areas.
She said development had caught up with previously sparsely populated or not so popular areas.
“Some areas that used to be quiet are now bustling with commuters. As such, the government should study where the population growth is the most.
“Glenmarie has a park-and-ride facility but it is not enough. People from Bukit Jelutong will come to Glenmarie station as this is the nearest one for them to commute on public transport,” she said.
Saw said reviewing this data and long-term projections would benefit the public as it helped the government better understand changing commuting and travel patterns over the years.
She also said proper walkways should be included in future infrastructure planning to ensure safety of pedestrians.
The paid parking facility at Glenmarie can hold close to 600 vehicles.
MCA Youth chairman Tan Jie Sen said it was important for the government to study the needs of the community and the projected passenger volumes at every station.
He said that more data-driven planning was needed to ensure availability of parking could keep pace with commuting patterns.
“By identifying these high-traffic hotspots, we can ensure public transport runs smoothly, without passengers being forced to park far away or illegally,” he said.
Tan noted that such data could also highlight the areas most in need of additional parking to support seamless integration between private and public transport like buses and demand responsive transit (DRT) vans.
Meanwhile, MCA Youth central committee member Andy Teoh said that having CCTV cameras around train stations was an important move.
“CCTV footage can help identify those responsible for damaging parked cars and assist victims in making insurance claims,” he said.
The June 25 incident resulted in seven police reports lodged by victims.
Shah Alam OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said preliminary investigations found that the affected vehicles were parked by the road while their owners used the LRT.
