Dangerous crossing at Lembah Kiara Recreational Park

Not safe: A group of children playing along the stream in the evening.

Preventive measure: A small note on a random tree near the stream advising the public not to play at the stream.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/8/25/central/11910933&sec=central (By CHRISTINA LOW & photos by GLENN GUAN, 25/8/2012)

DESPITE a huge signboard put up to inform joggers at the Lembah Kiara Recreational Park in Kuala Lumpur not to use its suspension bridge, some are still doing so and risking their lives.

“It is okay, the bridge is not that high, if it collapses, I will try and hold on to the ropes on the bridge,” said a runner when met during StarMetro’s visit to the park recently. The runner is just one of many park users who continues to use the bridge as the signboard does not specify the danger they faced.

Another park user, who wanted to be known only as Lim, said she walks there every morning and evening to check on the condition of the bridge for herself. “All we know is that it is dangerous but we do not know more than that, that’s why people are still using it,” she said. Lim, a resident of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, frequents the park every day and has assumed the role of a park ranger, ensuring children did not use the bridge and hurt themselves. “Recently, a couple with young children, complete with stroller, wanted to use the bridge but I warned them about the danger,” she said.

A structural engineer, known only as Koh, said the bridge posed danger to its users. “The stay wires on both ends of the bridge have snapped and are dangling. These wires help keep the bridge in place and it can collapse any time,” said Koh. Koh’s wife said the National Landscape Department (JLN) should have specified the dangers on the signboard. “Now the board serves no purpose,” she said.

Besides the bridge, the park is generally in a bad state, with its water fountain not in working condition and a water lily pond becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The trees and grass are also overgrown with the drains along the running path clogged with dead leaves.

Lim also pointed out a stream in the park with murky water where children are often seen catching small fishes. She said residents believed the toilet’s septic tank was out of order, causing some of the discharge to flow into the drain and the stream.

JLN has put up notices on trees near the stream informing the public not to use it but many could not see as these were just too small.

In April, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng visited the park and said there was a lack of maintenance of the park by the authorities. When contacted yesterday, Lim said although JLN had conducted minor repairs on the bridge, it was not ready for use and as such still closed to the public. “Kuala Lumpur City Hall has said it is no longer their job to maintain the park as it is now under JLN, “ he said.

Lim said he would raise the issue in Parliament next month.