Archipelago KL

The ring roads in KL is not just a planning concept on a macro scale but developers in Malaysia are quick to adopt the idea of roads surrounding the center concept. The two fairly recent development in KL in KL Sentral and Mid Valley city are examples of that. The two projects are island of its own development, having multiple entries from the perimeter of the encircling road to the center of mix-developments of hotels, offices, residential, transportation hub and shopping malls. This trend has caused the city of KL to have developments that forms an archipelago of a mix-use development that is separated from its surrounding context. Subsequently, as discussed in the previous post, this caused major traffic congestions due to the high influx of cars moving in and out of the “island”. More importantly, this has caused KL to move in a direction where it is less pedestrian-friendly than it ever was. 

KL Sentral was developed with the objective of being the gateway to the city for international tourist and visitors. It is a transportation hub where all major public transportation system meets. However, this “gateway” to the city is located on the peripheral of the city; and tourists and travelers will then change the transportation mode to their next destination, most frequently a cab which cause further traffic congestion on the road. This “gateway” act more like a transit hub as it is locked in an island of its own by the surrounding roads and detached from its surroundings which prompted the reliance of other transportation mode to move the travelers around. The idea of walking out of the island of KL Sentral is not impossible but it is not entire pedestrian-friendly either. This is a wasted opportunity to promote the beauty and charm of KL as KL Sentral is actually located in between the Royal Botanic Garden and Brickfields which is the center of a cultural hub for the Indian community. In order to walk from KL Sentral to the two tourist attraction spots will require the user to walk on the road shared with cars and pedestrian will need to cross multiple roads with heavy traffic flow. The implementation of traffic lights to allow for pedestrian to move along KL Sentral, Brickfields and the Royal Botanic Garden caused more harm than good. This is because the walkways are very unfriendly and people seldom travel on them but the traffic lights are implemented which stops the already congested traffic every several minutes.

KL Sentral Development model showing the perimeter road that sets the boundary

Similarly in Mid Valley City, home to the biggest shopping mall in Malaysia, which is located at the center of multiple residential areas. The layout of Mid Valley City is not catered for the surrounding residential zones to have a clear access. Again the boundary set by the roads encircling Mid Valley City, much like the ones surrounding KL Sentral, encouraged visitors to travel by car in order to access the shopping malls. This has caused residents who live 10 minutes walk away from Mid Valley City to get on their car instead of walking there for better and more comfortable access.

Aerial view of Mid Valley City showing the boundary set by the roads encircling it 

The idea of archipelago development is not limited to major mix-use development in KL. The habit of travelling by car in KL as well as the paranoia surrounding the safety and well-being in every Malaysian has prompted the rise of popularity in the gated-community residential zones. This is rarely seen in European countries or Australia for that matter as the people are more accustomed to travelling by bicycle or by walking without the need for constant wariness to look over their shoulders and worry about their safety.

The result of the reliance on automobile, the concern for safety and a climate that does not promote long-distance pedestrian travel has caused more and more walled development to arise in Malaysia. As we go along this trend of development, the cities in Malaysia will soon be made up of different zones set apart by a boundary formed by wall-fences and roads. Subsequently, people will rely on cars to get around more so than ever and this would amplify the problem of traffic congestions in KL even more. The problems surrounding the cities in Malaysia could be solved by overcoming the growing number of automobile users but the method of which to do so may require long-term strategic planning. The improvement of the public transportation system is a good start and controlling the use of cars into the city such as demonstrated in Singapore could help to improve the traffic conditions as well.