Many MRT and LRT stations near malls and office buildings advertise easy access – but not all stations have proper walkways that provide safety and shelter for pedestrians. One of those stations is the MRT Pusat Bandar Damansara station, which netizens say is more cumbersome than convenient.
In a tweet by Transport Access Malaysia, the account shares a Chinese New Year “greeting card” that seems to mock the MRT station and the adjacent Pavilion Damansara Heights Mall. The tweet writes, “This year, pedestrians can learn how to fly like dragons, so there’s no longer any need for walking paths.” Attached to the tweet was a photo of a pedestrian walking at the side of the road, completely exposed to oncoming traffic near the Damansara mall.
The tweet was a call out towards MRT Pusat Bandar Damansara and Pavilion Damansara Heights for being inconsiderate towards pedestrians who use the station daily. The Twitter user points out the lack of designated walkways from the station to surrounding buildings, forcing pedestrians to jaywalk to their destination. The user also lamented that the area could have easily been walkable if MRT Corp had put better planning into the entire project and not just for the benefit of the Pavilion Mall.
Other netizens echoed the complaints, extending their opinions to the authorities and local politicians. Many also asked the local government to rebuild a link bridge for pedestrians to nearby offices. One Twitter user who frequents the area for work said he has almost gotten hit by cars several times solely because he wants to get to the MRT station. Others urged the responsible parties to take immediate action to not put more pedestrians in danger by forcing them to walk in traffic to their destination.
Some netizens pointed out the walkway from the MRT station to the mall that pedestrians can use. However, others responded that even the connection to Pavilion Damansara Heights isn’t as convenient as advertised because the pedestrians still have to walk outside the mall and next to traffic.
This isn’t the first time netizens have called out MRT for not being pedestrian-friendly because last year, a Twitter user shared her frustration about the dangerous route she has to take to get to her office from the MRT Phileo Damansara station. We hope MRT Corp and the local government can tackle the issue as soon as possible for the public’s safety.
Source: Twitter
