JOHOR BARU: Pedestrianising large parts of the city centre around the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link station has been proposed as a key measure to prevent congestion and unlock economic potential ahead of its opening next year.
Academician and former deputy international trade and industry minister Prof Dr Ong Kian Ming said at least 180 degrees around the link’s Bukit Chagar station should be strictly set aside for pedestrians.
“This is because the Johor Baru city centre is already congested as it is and the RTS Link is expected to transport up to 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.
“If you hope for them to take e-hailing without having traffic dispersal modes like the Automated Rapid Transit and a good bus transport system out of the RTS Link, it is going to be gridlock from day one,” he said during a panel discussion.
The discussion was part of a RTS Link workshop organised by Johor Corporation and Cerebrum, which drew senior leaders from government, industry, media and academia.
Prof Ong added said pedestrianising areas within a 500m radius of the station could help address dispersal challenges while creating opportunities for commercial development and vibrant public spaces.
“This would create opportunities for development of public spaces where people can hold events and make the Johor Baru city centre a place that is alive, not just where people come and disperse to other places,” he said.
He highlighted the importance of adopting a transit-oriented development model, drawing lessons from Singapore where residential, commercial and public spaces are seamlessly connected to transit systems.
Another speaker, PwC Malaysia economics and policy partner Patrick Tay urged city planners to better understand on-the-ground realities.
He encouraged stakeholders to physically walk or cycle through the city to identify challenges such as uneven curbs and disconnected pedestrian pathways.
Tay noted that the initial profile of RTS Link users would largely comprise working-class commuters who are likely to disperse quickly after arriving in the city centre.
“Many Singaporean visitors currently travel into Johor Baru by car and tend to frequent areas outside the central business district, such as Taman Sentosa and Taman Pelangi.
“This reality requires disciplined execution to build the central business district in a way that eventually captures Singaporean traffic and sends the right signals to investors,” he said at the event also attended by state investment, trade, consumer affairs and human resources committee chairman Lee Ting Han.
During the discussion, state investment and economic adviser Hasni Mohammad said speed and efficiency would be critical to the success of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
He pointed to the Invest Malaysia Facilitation Centre Johor, the first such centre established outside Kuala Lumpur, as a one-stop platform to expedite investor applications.
“Speed of getting things done is a challenge. Government servants cannot continue working as usual if we want the JS-SEZ to achieve its expectations,” he said.
Hasni added that Malaysia could draw lessons from the Shenzhen special economic zone in addressing investor concerns over bureaucratic processes, noting that contingency planning would also be crucial as major infrastructure projects such as the RTS Link come online on Jan 1 next year.
Meanwhile in his opening speech, Johor Corporation president and chief executive Datuk Syed Mohamed Syed Ibrahim said efforts were needed to ensure that when the new transit line opens, movement could be converted into commerce, confidence and reinvestment.
He added that proposals and findings from the workshop would be presented to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi soon, and later shared with the public.
