KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL)’s new policy of giving a 50 per cent discount to developers to entice them to build in Kuala Lumpur “seems unnecessary” as the city is already appealing to developers, a New York-based group advocating for better public spaces worldwide has said.

Cynthia Nikitin from Project for Public Spaces (PPS) points out that discounts on development charges on its own is typically offered by cities to attract property developers to invest and build, also noting the missed potential for city improvements with the future reduced revenue collection by DBKL.

“In Kuala Lumpur’s case, KL is already attracting property developers. The revenue which is thus lost from the discount could have been used to further improve infrastructure, create and enhance public spaces and better transit facilities,” the senior vice-president of PPS told Malay Mail Online through email.

She was asked to comment on DBKL’s reported announcement this week of the new policy that is aimed at spurring development amid a slowing economy, with the incentive possibly ending by the end of 2016 if the economy stabilises.

On Wednesday, Deputy Federal Territories Minister Datuk Loga Bala Mohan said the policy that kicks in from September is meant to help generate economic growth and to prevent developers from passing on high development charges to property buyers.

Cynthia suggested that DBKL could even impose extra development charges on developers eyeing prime spots in the city, which would provide additional funds for reinvestment in the city.

“As an innovative idea, why not consider having a surplus on development charges around prime locations with the additional money going back towards the city’s public transportation infrastructure or upkeep?

“This would provide for a win-win-win solution affecting city dwellers, the municipality and the developers themselves as everyone would love to live around areas with improved or well-maintained infrastructure,” she said.

While such reinvestment may not immediately show a return on investment, it improves quality of life by providing better living spaces and would also lead to higher property values, she said.

Cynthia also weighed in on DBKL’s reported plan to introduce congestion pricing for private cars entering the city’s central business district by 2017, which she praised as a “good bold step”, but said the public transport system here has to be further improved.

Loga Bala had said that the congestion charges is one of the measures being studied to reduce traffic congestion, with the government also mulling higher parking charges, higher development charges for parking bays and limiting parking lots to encourage the use of public transport after the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)’s Line 1 is completed by 2017.

But the Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz clarified that there is no concrete plan yet to introduce congestion pricing by 2017 where only one MRT line would be available, noting that the Land Public Transport Commission (Spad) is the proper authority to make such decisions, Malaysiakini reported yesterday.

During a recent group interview with Malay Mail Online and two other publications, Cynthia highlighted her experience taking the city’s light rail transit (LRT) from tourist spot Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) to KL Sentral.

“The crowding on the platform was dangerous. In New York, if there is that much crowding, they turn off the escalators, but people just kept coming and coming and we were waiting for a train, it was like five minutes at rush hour,” said Cynthia, whose wide-ranging expertise covers projects to enhance transit facilities and transit station areas, among other things.

The train was packed when it got to her turn and there were still hundreds waiting behind her for the LRT, she said.

Cynthia highlighted her experience taking the city’s light rail transit (LRT) from tourist spot Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) to KL Sentral. — File pic

She contrasted her Kuala Lumpur experience with Russia’s Moscow city, where she said trains come every 90 seconds for 18 days to serve a city of around 20 million people.

“And we want to take public transport, it was great, it was clean, it was fast, it was air-conditioned, but that was way too long to wait.

“So if you want people to get out of their cars, the system is great, but the frequency needs a lot of attention,” she said.

She said the public should also be educated on the benefits of not driving, including improvements in air quality, spending less on parking, having more time with their family instead of spending hours commuting daily.

The PPS has carried out projects to improve public spaces for over 3,000 communities in the US and 43 other countries.

It is currently partnering Khazanah Nasional’s wholly-owned subsidiary Think City to carry out urban renewal projects in Malaysia.