BY BRENDA CH’NG

Some sidewalks in Damansara Uptown after beautification works, is more conducive for pedestrians.

TWO things often come to mind when Petaling Jaya’s Damansara Uptown is mentioned -- traffic congestion and unavailability of parking space.

It is understandable, however, why this commercial square in SS21 has been attracting big traffic volumes that are ever-increasing especially over the past decade.

This is thanks to the 13 banks in the hub, along with more than 100 eateries strategically located here.

Not forgetting the working population there, which has been estimated to be about 25,000 people occupying 232,000sq m of office space within the square.

What It Was

Thirty years ago, high-rise buildings and traffic crawls did not exist in Damansara Uptown.

Instead, it was filled with street hawkers and bicycle shops. It was also a popular watering hole for residents in the Klang Valley.

Nearby resident Datuk Thong Weng Hon reminisced, “I remember one of the early outlets here was a comic shop, it was very popular among students and I remember visiting it very frequently.”

Tan showing a model of what Damansara Uptown will look like once the developments and beautification works are done.

Thong, who grew up in SS20, said there were fewer vehicles in the area those days, not much landscaping and the area was also fairly dirty.

But it was safer back then, he said, and he would cycle to school in Damansara Jaya, cutting through Damansara Uptown.

“Those days the place was filled with Chinese coffeeshops and hawkers that lined the street from the police station up to the end of the road.

“I remember the place was dirtier back then because of all these hawker stalls on the road and there were no proper shops unlike now,” said Thong, who is in his 40s.

Thong, who has a law firm in Damansara Uptown now, is happy with how the area has grown and welcomes the new changes and developments.

Apart from bicycle shops and coffeeshops, another establishment that has become became a landmark in Damansara Uptown is The Ship restaurant.

Having been there for as long as surrounding residents and regular visitors can remember, this restaurant which serves western cuisine is still enjoying good business.

“Though we have had some turbulence along the way over the years, we are now sailing smoothly” said restaurant manager Tammy Ma.

“We do see a lot of loyal customers and our concept is different from other restaurants around here, so I believe that is why we are still doing well,” she said, adding that she had seen shops opened and closed within a short period of time in the years that she had been working there.

When asked if business was affected because of competition from new restaurants, Ma said it slowed down a little recently due to the poor economy but there was still a good crowd during weekends.

Damansara Utama Residents and Owners Association (Duroa) president Rajes Patel remembers the place to be dotted with pubs and car workshops.

“Back then the centre of attraction here was the Fajar Supermarket, which is now occupied by HSBC Bank.

“There were not many banks then. The bigger banks only came in later,” he said, adding that he used to be able to get RM3 cendol here but not anymore.

Jane Wong, who used to study in this commercial square and later got a job there, said she would prefer the area to remain the way she remembered it as some eight years back.

She used to spend a lot of time in Damansara Uptown in the late 1990s when she studied at a college in this location. She later worked in an advertising agency based in the Uptown 5 building.

“I will always remember the very affordable and tasty nasi lemak and chee cheong fun there.

“But I try to avoid that area nowadays unless I have no choice, because when I hear the name Uptown, I think about how difficult it is to find parking.

“There is certainly a lot more development taking place now and a lot more traffic, making it constantly congested,” she said.

The face of Damansara Uptown has evolved and transformed over the past three decades.

An old photo of Damansara Uptown before the new developments and highrise buildings came up.

Apart from traffic, there was a time when crime rates in the area increased, along with development.

“Crime has been an issue here in the past five years but the situation has improved a lot recently, largely thanks to the efforts of the developer See Hoy Chan Sdn Bhd,” said Yong Yit Ling, who works as a service delivery manager at a company in the square.

Now, apart from the police kiosks and installation of closed-circuit television cameras, auxiliary policemen can be seen patrolling the area.

“I am also glad they have painted the buildings and are doing some beautifying works around this commercial area,” she said.

She, however, lamented that traffic got a lot heavier over the years but held out hope that it would get better once the parking bays in the new developments opened up.

Rajes describes the place as a Gen Y area now.

“We welcome the new developments taking place in this area,” he said.

The only thing residents in the 1,600 residential units are concerned is that shoppers visiting the new mall will park their cars in the residential areas and walk across to the business square, which is the current scenario.

They also hope that business owners and employees will be compelled to park in the multi-storey carpark, to keep the street parking available for visitors.

Rajes said the Petaling Jaya City Council should consider introducing the limited parking time like the rule implemented in USJ Taipan, to help ease the parking problem.