THE 43-year-old Pasar Lambak in Jalan 17/27 will be temporarily relocated to Jalan 17/29 tomorrow.
Some 130 traders are expected to be affected by the move that will last for two years to make way for a modern market.
The new market will be part of a mixed development next to the current market site by Conlay Land Sdn Bhd, which will include two towers of serviced apartments.
The Pasar Lambak Section 17 Morning Market Traders Association president Low Chun Foo hoped that there will be no change in their rent at the new facility.
“I am glad that we are only going a few hundred metres from the site of the old market.
“Otherwise, we would have lost our livelihood,” he said.
However, P. Suresh, who has been running a sundry shop in the market for 29 years, was not as optimistic.
He said traders would lose some of their business due the lack of parking spaces in the area.
A Jalan 17/28 resident, who wanted to be known as Lim, 70, said he was unhappy with the mixed development. Lim, who has been residing in Section 17 for 40 years, said: “The congestion around the market area will be worse with hoarding erected halfway into the Jalan 17/38 parking lots.”
Another resident, who wanted to be known as Chong, said the roads around the market were already congested and that it would be a nightmare for residents if a one-way system was implemented.
Chong, a resident of Jalan 17/44 for 30 years, said: Traffic and cleanliness are two major problems faced by the residents here.
“The area is infested with rats because hawkers dump food waste into the drains. I often find rats in my house.
“As it is, the residents have a hard time going in and out of their houses in the morning and evening as patrons of the morning market and evening food stalls park their cars indiscriminately.
“With the parking spot adjacent to the market taken up for development, it can only get worse,” said Chong.
Another resident, who is in her 50s, however, was happy with the new development as she felt it would improve the cleanliness of the neighbourhood.
“There has not been any kind of development here for the past 45 years and the neighbourhood is dirty and infested with rats.
“Hopefully, with the modern market, the area and its surroundings will be kept clean with the help of the developer,” she said.
During a Streets check on Friday, Jalan 17/29 was blocked with plastic barriers to prevent cars from entering the road which was being prepared for traders tomorrow.
Bukit Gasing state assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran, who announced the move here on Friday, said that the new market would have a roof, proper drainage, toilets, refuse chamber, electricity and water. However, it would be an open concept.
The cost and other details are being ironed out by the developer and the council.
He said the developer has marked lots for traders at the temporary market.
A seven-story parking facility will be built on the mixed development which market patrons can use for a fee.
“They have widened Jalan 17/29 and laid pipes for the traders. They are now installing spotlights and replacing the old street lights,” he said, adding that he expected congestion in the area due to limited parking space.
“I have suggested to the Petaling Jaya City Council to turn the parallel roads — Jalan 17/38 and 17/44 — into one-way roads but I have not had any feedback from them,” he said.