Saving a Shah Alam green lung from the LRT3

PETALING JAYA (July 24): The LRT3 line is to run through the only green lung in the area, and Jalan Plumbum 101 and 103 residents in Section 7 Shah Alam are worried. 

Their gated-and-guarded neighbourhood playground will be replaced by the LRT3 line, less than 20m from their houses, according to The Star. 

Children would lose their only playing field, and residents were worried about the potential health risks of living so close to the LRT line.

Jalan Plumbum 101 and 103 Residents Association committee member Abdul Rahim Dawood said that LRT3 engineers now claim it is their right of way, while initially the land was said to be part of the housing development. 

“The residents living along Jalan Plumbum 7/101e paid an extra RM10,000 to have a playground view but after this, they will open their doors to the LRT that passes by every seven minutes,” said Rahim to the daily.

Rahim also pointed out that the line was running through Persiaran Permai, a small populated area, with flats and landed properties, instead of serving the bigger community in Section 7.

Congestion was another worry.

“It seems more logical for the line to pass through the main road, Persiaran Bestari, which is wider and has more space for the columns.

“Moreover, there are unused green spaces on the other side that can be used for stations.

“It will be closer to the Shah Alam Hospital as well as Universiti Selangor, places the public need direct access to,” he said to the The Star.

Drilling works at the LRT3 work site may also have resulted in a broken pipe in the sewerage system of the neighbourhood. 

Residents had lodged complaints with Prasarana and Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) Sdn Bhd, meeting with Prasarana Malaysia Bhd to discuss alternatives, to prevent the line from encroaching into the neighbourhood.

But so far, the issue remains, unchanged.

The past three weeks has seen an idle site, and the main drains were clogged with large pipes and pedestrian walkways were obstructed.

“Proper safety measures and alternative footpaths should have been set up for residents.

“There are a number of people walking to the bus stops and main commercial centres down the road,” Rahim said to The Star.

IWK’s corporate communications senior manager Shahrul Nizam Sulaiman said to the daily that its underground sewer pipes at Jalan Plumbum 7/101 were damaged by the LRT3’s horizontal directional drilling works.

“This occurred while relocating the electrical cables. Both the LRT and IWK teams met earlier today and LRT has promised to repair the damaged sewer pipes soonest,” he said.

LRT contractors had already undertaken remedial works. 

LRT3 project director Patrick Hwang Chee Leong said to The Star that the LRT3 alignment and stations had been determined after an extensive feasibility study by SPAD.

“The study has shown that Persiaran Permai is one of the higher catchment location with ridership from both residential and commercial areas compared to Persiaran Bestari.

“The three-month public display was held from May to August 2015 and received more than 90% support from close to 7,300 people,” he said.

As for the playground, the Project Delivery Partners are improving upon the design, to allow the green lung to co-exist with the LRT3 alignment. 

The design is currently undergoing the final stages of approval at Prasarana, after which it will be presented to the residents.