The Transit Oriented Development (TOD) concept under the Selangor Structure Plan 2035 should be approached holistically for it to fully achieve its target of promoting public transport use among residents.
Under the plan, developments falling within 400m of transit stations such as MRT, KTM and LRT have potential to be TOD zones, reported The Star.
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It also requires developers to adhere to nine principles, which includes providing affordable homes and business space within the zone. The remaining principles cover walkways, cycle lanes, eco-buildings, public amenities, availability of feeder buses and high-density development.
The plan also sets plot ratio (density of commercial and residential units in a specified area) at 1:8 in the zone.
Local government expert Derek Fernandez, however, believes that not all land within 400m of transport stations are suited for the plan.
This comes as some LRT and MRT stations have smaller sizes and not really transportation hubs. Hence, infrastructure around the development may be insufficient.
“KL Sentral and KLCC stations are good examples of TOD because there is sufficient land and infrastructure in the area. These places attract people to live and work there, and come for social activities. Easy access via public transport is an attraction.”
“We want to create something of this nature,” he added.
With this, Fernandez floated the idea of developments taking place on combined parcels of land owned by several owners. This would allow developers to work on a larger area and build better infrastructure.
“At present, we have different landowners with different plans in one area,” he said.
“One landowner nearest to the LRT station may not want to develop the land while another owner further away may want to develop his land but lacks space to provide amenities such as bus drop-off points and parking bays.”
Fernandez noted that policies should encourage lot owners “to combine their parcels of land so there is sufficient land to be used for infrastructure needs such as roads”.
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