SEBERANG PERAI, Sept 7 — It’s hard to believe that the laidback town of Butterworth was once a government administrative centre.
In fact, it was quite a busy little town when the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was based here.
Today, the old town with its mix of heritage and modern buildings feels as if it is trapped in time. Quite a few open spaces are left vacant and neglected.
Seeing the potential of these spaces, Think City together with Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) started implementing a plan to “activate” them while making Butterworth more pedestrian-friendly.
This involves the planting of more trees, improving and creating pocket parks, gardens and upgrading the streetscape into a system of interconnected open spaces so pedestrians can easily walk from one place to another through pleasant green surroundings.
“We are working with MPSP to plant trees and landscape pavements and sidewalks to provide shade for pedestrians,” said Think City programme executive Daniel Lee.
According to MPSP Butterworth Baru Plan unit chief Normaira Abdul Rahman, about 30 Tecoma trees will be planted under the first phase of the Butterworth Baru Plan.
“We hope to enhance the quality of living and connectivity within the neighbourhood by improving the streetscape and public parks in the Butterworth area,” she said.
She added that the local community will also be involved in the greening project.
“This is to foster a sense of responsibility for the greening of the environment and to encourage them to care for the trees,” she said.
The areas identified for a green makeover are the Rope Walk area which is from Jalan Selat to Jalan Allen, Taman Pantai, Taman Selat, Taman Ria and Jeti Lama.
Pocket parks
The first pocket park to be completed is at Taman Ria. This vacant space, in between blocks of high rise flats, was initially left untended and overgrown with weeds.
Today — after several months of upgrading work — it is a landscaped park with native plants, walking paths, outdoor exercise equipment and a large swing.
Currently, the second pocket park is underway at Jeti Lama. The site chosen was formerly 810 sq metres of plain tarmac in front of a temple.
Residents used the space as a carpark so now work is underway to officially turn it into a carpark with a rain garden. (A rain garden is a planted depression or hole that allows rainwater runoff from nearby areas to be absorbed so the rainwater is available to plants as ground water.)
There will also be landscaping and a pocket park here. It will feature an interactive children’s water play feature and a pedestrian bridge across the rain garden for easy access to the nearby Jeti Lama Market.
This green carpark also provides a space for events such as the annual Butterworth Fringe Festival held in conjunction with the George Town Festival on the island of Penang.
A cemetery park
Along Lorong Kubur, off Jalan Heng Choon Thian, is an old Chinese cemetery that spreads out over 0.9ha (2.3 acres) of land.
There are century-old graves and tombs here as well as graves of Japanese soldiers who died here during World War II.
Think City is working with MPSP and the cemetery land owner to partially open up the space and turn it into a park.
“We will be upgrading the perimeter wall and open up parts of the cemetery as a public space,” said Think City programme executive Winnie Tan. The cemetery will be landscaped and turned into a small park.
Taman Pantai Green Corridor
Over in Taman Pantai, discussions are underway about the creation of Taman Pantai Green Corridor which starts from the former library land adjacent to Taman Pantai to Anjung Bagan and Padang Pemuda Merdeka.
The greening starts from the padang and continues down to Taman Anjung Bagan where the open space can be activated through the adaptive reuse of its water features.
From Taman Anjung, the greening leads down to the rojak tonggek stalls where there are more open spaces for tree planting and greening.
“We have already planted around 20 trees at the rojak tonggek area and we will slowly move down and identify more areas for greening and planting,” Lee said.
There is even space for a children’s playground and healing garden called the Healing Quadrant. From this space down to Taman Pantai, there is a large tract of privately-owned land so there needs to be engagement with the landowner to ensure any future development on the site is in line with the green corridor plans.
Other than these planned green projects, Lee said they are still identifying other open spaces that can be transformed with the planting of more trees and greenery.
“This is part of the whole objective of making Butterworth greener and more pedestrian-friendly for easier access between areas through walking,” Lee said.
The pocket parks, Taman Pantai Green Corridor and greening of Butterworth are all also part of the whole Pekan Lama Regeneration Plan under Butterworth Baru.
The Regeneration Plan is a collaborative urban regeneration effort between Think City and MPSP to revive Butterworth and turn it into a liveable commercial centre.
* Think City is currently undertaking urban regeneration programmes for Butterworth, George Town, Kuala Lumpur and Johor. Find out more about Think City and its projects at thinkcity.com.my.
