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The increasingly popular Section 13 of Petaling Jaya will soon be redeveloped from a light industrial area to a citizen-friendly neighbourhood with a linear park, elevated bridge, and pedestrian-friendly streets.

Plans for the neighbourhood was announced in the recent Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Petaling Jaya Section 13 Special Area Draft Plan, First Amendment plan. According to Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran, there will be no changes to the plot ratio in Section 13, and that the redevelopment is only designed to improve the section.

The linear park will feature community gardens, a bio-swale pond, floodgate, and river promenade which is to be complemented by terrace sitting, and the park will be located between Jalan 13/4 and Jalan 13/6 which leads into Sungai Penchala, alongside the monsoon drain.

The park will be part of the redevelopment plan, designed for recreational purposes and to green up the city while optimising the river’s ecological factor and pushing the city’s growth towards sustainability. And as an additional perk, business owners will be able to establish their businesses along Sungai Penchala.

Before the project can materialise, the city council will, however, need to come into an agreement with the affected landowners, who will be approached by the city council to discuss appropriate compensation and incentives.

Rajiv also noted that Jalan 13/4 and Jalan 13/6 currently does not have footpaths, hence the forthcoming developments will be beneficial in allowing the public to stroll around Section 13 easily.

Said Rajiv, “As a Central Business Development (CBD), these areas must be walkable and there should be no fence or wall blocking the roads.”

The footpaths are proposed to be between 2 and 2.4 metres wide, with a 1.5-metre buffer from the roads with trees. An additional underground drainage system will also be constructed in Section 13 by MBPJ.

Finally, the recommended elevated bridge which will also be known as the Iconic Bridge will be built from Jalan Semangat to Section 12, connecting Section 52. It is hoped that this bridge will help to reduce the traffic in Section 13 during peak hours while allowing pedestrians and cyclists to have commute space as well.

Also in an effort to increase walkability and reduce peak hour traffic congestion, a skyway and ramps between the Section 14 commercial area, Jalan Utara, and Jalan 33 are also being suggested.

Residents of Section 13 have however come forward to voice their opinions and scepticism of the redevelopment plans due to perceived inaccuracies of the proposed plan when viewed through artist impressions.

Among the questions that have been voiced includes one from Selva Sugumaran, the Chairman of Residents Association (RA) for Jalan 14/1 to 14/15, “When they talk about elevated bridges and footpaths, would it encroach onto the space of neighbourhoods outside Section 13, such as Section 14? We would like to know how this would benefit us, the older neighbours too.”

According to Selva, the community welcomes change to beautify the section; however, MBPJ should also take into account the possibility of the city becoming denser.

If the redevelopment plans do however go through, it will take 5 years to complete as stated by Rajiv.


(24 March 2020)

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good news, keep it up

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It is high time to do so. Bustling area since Section 13, 14, 17 etc are all nearby. 

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Good work, hope they will redeveloped few places too.