Developer addresses parking issues before commercial project takes off

The second phase of the Uptown commercial project in Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya, will begin this year and several measures have been put in place for construction work to begin.

The development consists of a residential block, an office tower, a shopping mall, service apartments and a 1.62ha eco-park.

Several open air car parks in the area have already been closed to facilitate piling and earthwork for the residential block in Jalan SS21/60.

See Hoy Chan Sdn Bhd executive vice-president Joe Tan said the Uptown 7 multi-storey car park had been upgraded recently to accommodate more vehicles due to the closure of the open air car park.

All ready: Earthwork has already started for the Uptown Phase 2 development and the developer has taken various measures to ensure that parking is sufficient and traffic manageable.

“It used to be only 30% occupied but now it has risen to 80%. We built a new ramp for better accessibility,” said Tan.

The interior of the structure has also been given a facelift with brighter colours, more lights, CCTV cameras and security guards.

There are also more signages put up, making it easier for motorists to park.

Tan said the parking rates had also been reduced to RM1 for the first three hours, compared with RM1 for the first two hours previously.

Helping out: Guards are stationed at the corner of Jalan SS21/37 and SS21/60 near the entrance of the construction site to manage traffic and ensure that the public do not double-park in the area.

The rates are lower than the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) parking rates of 60sen per hour at the public parking bays.

“We want to encourage the public to use the multi-level parking. We have had several rounds of discussions with the business owners and residents to keep them updated on our development plans,” he said.

Now, many of the parking bays are taken up by shopowners and Tan advised them to park at Uptown 7 to free the public parking spaces for their customers.

“We are providing a free shuttle service to pick up and drops off people at various stops in the commercial area. We started with one van and the response was good so we added another for the service.

New look: The Uptown 7 multilevel car park has been given a facelift to make it brighter and more comfortable, like this glass panel at the lift lobby on each floor.

“If the response continues to be good, we will look into making it a long-term service,” Tan said.

The shuttle service starts from the Uptown 7 parking area with a frequency of every 20 minutes and stops at Uptown 5, Uptown 1, Uptown 2, HSBC, Malaya Optical, Perodua, Station 1 Kopitiam and Public Bank.

“We have stationed a security guard at the shuttle service waiting area to make it safer for commuters,” he said.

Tan said they had also more security guards patrolling day and night.

There are also guards stationed at the corner of Jalan SS21/37 and Jalan SS21/60, where construction vehicles enter and exit the site to manage traffic flow and prevent people from double-parking.

The initial stages of construction would see a tunnel being built in Jalan SS21/37, near Uptown 37.

The tunnel will provide direct access to the basement of the retail mall from the Damansara-Puchong Highway.

“The tunnel will also be used by our heavy vehicles so they do not have to use the service roads in the commercial area,” said Tan.

He said the mall in Uptown was not meant to compete with the big shopping centres but to cater for the surrounding community and those working in the area.

The service apartments will sit on top of the retail mall and run by a Singaporean company.

The residential block is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2014 while construction of the office tower and mall will start next year. The whole project is expected to be completed in 2016.

By The Star