Build homes above park-and-ride lots, not train stations, says expert

Free Malaysia Today

a day ago

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently proposed developing new people's housing directly atop or next to public transport stations to improve urban accessibility and sustainability. (MRT pic)
PETALING JAYA : Instead of attempting to build homes directly on top of train stations, an urban design expert is proposing a more practical alternative: construct high-density residential units on their adjacent park-and-ride lots.
Keith Tan of Taylor's University said constructing houses over existing stations was unfeasible due to major structural limitations, but many park-and-ride lots offered untapped potential.
Keith Tan.
'It is very difficult to build new buildings directly on top of existing MRT or LRT stations unless the station was originally designed to accommodate vertical expansion within its footprint under a second phase,' the associate professor of architecture told FMT.
Modern high-rise buildings typically rely on deep pile foundations topped with thick concrete rafts, which were impossible to install without closing or demolishing parts of a functioning transport terminal, he explained.
'In the case of park-and-ride lots, new elevated podiums or basement levels can be constructed to replace the lost parking and support both the public transport station and the residential building,' said Tan.
Tan's comments come on the heels of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's proposal to develop new public housing atop or next to transport stations to improve urban accessibility and sustainability.
However, this idea of transit-oriented developments (TODs) isn't entirely new in Malaysia, according to Siva Shanker of Rahim & Co International Sdn Bhd.
Siva Shanker.
Siva said the demand for TODs had surged in recent years, with some projects marketed as TODs even when the nearest station was 500 metres away.
He said these homes often come with steep price tags, but that affordability could be achieved if the government intervened, especially on land costs.
'If the government owns the land and gives it to developers at a lower cost — say, RM10 per square foot instead of RM50 — that savings can be passed on to the buyers,' he said.
With new rail lines planned in Johor Bahru and Penang, Tan said it was time to rethink how TODs are designed.