KUALA LUMPUR: Businesses along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman are unhappy with Kuala Lumpur City Hall's plan to again close the crucial stretch to traffic every Sunday.
Bukit Bintang member of parliament Fong Kui Lun said the local authority was about to reopen old wounds with brick-and-mortar businesses along the road.
"It's going to be an interesting month. The road is an artery in the capital, and traffic will be affected significantly, and illegal stalls will also crop up.
"Surely, they are going to voice their issues," Fong said.
The order that comes into force every Sunday starting tomorrow entails the closure of 500m from Jalan Esfahan (Sogo) to Jalan Melayu (Masjid India/Jalan Tun Perak) to traffic.
In 2019, shop owners under the Batu Road Retailers Association (BARRA) and Masjid India Business Owners Association mounted a campaign to get authorities to abort the plan, as it affected more than 200 shops in the shopping district.
Shop owners along the road threatened lawsuits and shutdowns as the authorities initially stood their ground.
The weekly road closure was temporarily stopped eight weeks after it was imposed in March 2019 to help traders during Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
The closure was meant to be reintroduced in August 2019, but it did not materialise.
In recent times, however, this partial closure was enforced on Saturdays to make way for the Ramadan night market on Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
During these closures in the past, one lane was reserved for buses and taxis.
Harisons general manager Bhavesh Patel objects to the closure, saying it was bad for business, especially since many shops were still recovering from the pandemic.
Bhavesh said the brick-and-mortar shops that had been operating in the area for generations also had to contend with being unable to unload their goods due to food trucks and stalls operated by the Young Entrepreneurs Foundation on Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman from 12pm to 9pm daily.
He said illegal traders were also a fixture on the side lanes that connect the artery to Masjid India.
Bhavesh said that as a result, all backlanes for loading, as well as their access to Masjid India, were blocked.
This includes a side lane that leads to a carpark near Semua House.
"Our customers like to be dropped off and picked up by relatives, who in turn park in Masjid India or Sogo.
"If they know there is a road closure, they will avoid coming to the city altogether because the jams — even to the parking lots — are maddening."
Bhavesh said the 1km to 2km-long alternative route suggested for shoppers to access Masjid India via Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Esfahan, Jalan Kuching and Jalan Raja Laut would take between half an hour to 45 minutes based on the 2019 closure.
Traffic is also expected to build up on Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Parlimen, and cripple the city centre.
"This road closure may be final push that would force us (shops there) to fold and let go the thousands of local workers that we have painfully retained. City Hall should just buy up the 100 or 200 shops now and save us the hassle."
"We have had a 30 to 50 per cent drop in sales since 2015 to 2021, this closure is also happening before the Deepavali and year-end peak periods.
"We are slowly recovering and are now around 30 per cent down (in business). But disruptions from the closure caused by fewer customers, disrupted goods loading schedules and inflation would cause us to lose another 20 per cent."
He said City Hall should find out if this move would aid business and increase foot traffic in the area before implementing it.
"Proprietors and operators have generally been patient. For years, we put up with jams that drove way customers during construction of the River of Life project.
"No one finds it convenient to walk here without a Jalan TAR, which is accessible to traffic."
Bhavesh said even the Wakaf Buta built for cultural events and performances was underused.
"All this talk about making the place a cultural centre like Oxford Street (in London) and cutting down carbon emissions is ridiculous."
Bhavesh, who is also a BARRA committee member, said a meeting with City Hall last week suggested that a decision to close the road was final.
He said this was similar in 2019, when the decision to close the road was already taken by the time the association was called for a meeting with the authorities.
"In our meeting on Aug 19, we were told that there was a misprint in the papers and that the plan was to close the road beginning Aug 28 and not Sept 28. The director also said his job was to close the road.
"The best part was that they neither have a viable traffic diversion plan and nor a clue about the degree of obstruction this will cause on car parks and roads," he claimed.
Bhavesh said there were glaring issues that had yet to be addressed.
"The budget hotels cannot have their guests dropped off and fetched during weekends. When the pasar malam operates on Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the roads are so crammed that no emergency vehicle can pass through.
"And now they expect buses to use these same backlanes. Also, where are the facilities for persons with disabilities?"
BARRA vice president Datin Rohana Mohmmad Nasir said businesses in the district were bracing for the closure.
"Any notice on road closure or traffic diversion will trigger negative responses and deter the public from coming. Shoppers also do not take public transport to get here as it is inconvenient to shop while lugging around their purchases."
She said many customers needed cars and cabs as they bought in bulk.
"This also includes outstation customers with large families who come with young children and elderly parents."
Rohana said closures needed to be discussed thoroughly with all stakeholders, including small businesses.
She said issues faced by businesses in the area, such as problems with unloading goods, and obstructions caused by petty traders needed to be addressed before any closure is implemented.
"BARRA suggests that businesses be allowed to focus on attracting more shoppers to come to the shopping district without any hindrance of crawls due to closures and diversions."
She said the association was willing to revisit other ideas by the government to promote the business district.
Muaz Wholesale Emporium director Malik Tanveer Ahmad Ali Ahmad was willing to give the closure a try.
However, he urged City Hall to get feedback from all traders in the area after several weeks,
"We need data to see if it was beneficial. I'm open to keeping it if it's good, but if it isn't, then it should be scrapped."
He said the authorities had to ensure that parking could be accessed and obstructions caused by illegal traders were cleared.
"We feel that illegal traders here, who are fewer compared with the thousands of shoppers, workers and shops combined are an inconvenience. They obstruct motorists."
In 2019, then City Hall executive director (project management) Datuk Mohd Najib Mohd said Jalan TAR catered to 1,800 vehicles during peak hours, 600 to 800 vehicles more than its load capacity.
A source told the NST that traffic studies would be conducted alongside the trial closure. He said this would include the impact of the closure on persons with disablities.