A larger number of parking bays near the Kepong Baru MRT station in Kuala Lumpur will soon be made accessible to the public. Previously, out of the 52 bays, 22 of them, including two disabled bays, were allocated exclusively to MRT Corp employees. However, these will now be opened up and made available to daily commuters. This move is expected to benefit visitors and business owners in the nearby Laman Rimbunan commercial area. Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng announced during a press conference at a restaurant on Jalan Rimbunan Raya that the MRT authorities have agreed to open up the parking spaces by mid-October. The increase in commuters using the MRT station has resulted in a scarcity of parking spots for visitors, negatively impacting local businesses.
Lim Lip Eng also mentioned that he plans on discussing a long-term solution with Kuala Lumpur City City Hall (DBKL) to convert an open space next to the MRT Kepong Baru station into an additional parking lot. He further expressed the intention of implementing a two-hour parking policy in the commercial area, similar to that of local councils in Subang Jaya and Petaling Jaya, where fines would be issued to cars exceeding the allotted time. Lim’s special assistant, Dic Lai, highlighted that motorists taking the MRT would only have to pay RM4.30 for the whole day of parking, whereas non-MRT users would have to pay RM3.30 per hour. Lai also mentioned the availability of a multi-storey carpark near the Metro Prima MRT station, equipped with 212 bays.
Jane Gan, the owner of Village de Cafe, expressed her concerns over the negative impact the train station opposite her restaurant has had on her business. She stated that many commuters park their cars there for the entire day, leaving her customers with no parking spaces. Community activist Yee Poh Ping, who had previously raised concerns about the parking issue, called for the reserved bays near MRT Kepong Baru to be made accessible to the public in an April 25 report by StarMetro. MRT Corp responded in a follow-up report on June 7, stating that some of the bays were reserved for the disabled. Yee suggested that MRT Corp employees should park at other stations like Sri Delima and urged the opening up of all 52 bays for the benefit of both commuters and businesses in Laman Rimbunan.
Credit: The Star : Metro Feed
