It’s a city that is an architectural wonder. Its buildings are grandiose and spectacular, its lakes and bridges, nothing short of magnificent.
Together, they contribute to the beauty and splendour of Putrajaya – the administrative capital of Malaysia.
But all that Instagrammable-worthy backdrop would be forgotten when one has to park at the many public parking areas in the city.
Putrajaya is 27 years old. It has benefited from the best in town and urban planning. Yet, the open parking spaces in the city are no more than just empty plots of untarred land.
This, despite the fact that parking is a huge problem at most ministries. Some of these open spaces have been turned into parking lots for staff and visitors to go about their business.
Aside from the poor surface conditions, one’s driving skills would also be put to the test in some of these parking spaces. With vehicles double-parked (at times, triple-parked), one would have to negotiate tight corners and bends, or at times, reverse the same way that they came in. For some, the built-in reverse cameras and sensors are a blessing.
If these open areas are not going to be developed anytime soon, it only makes sense for Putrajaya Corporation to tar the roads and provide proper signages and markings for the bays.
This will ensure that these open spaces will not look like a used car garage or an open scrapyard during office hours.
The local council should also be mindful that most of these open spaces are not connected to the nearest buildings. There are no covered walkways along the way to provide shelter from the elements. So, one either gets soaked in sweat under the sweltering sun, or drenched in the pouring rain. Anything in between is a bonus.
Unfortunately, driving remains the best option to get to, and run around in Putrajaya. For the time being, we will just have to bear with those unprepared, untarred, and sometimes unsightly open-air car parks. Let’s just hope that it will not take the guardians of the city another 27 years to come to their senses.
A pity to let all that grandeur be blighted by some open-air car parks.
