KUALA LUMPUR: VISITORS to the Perdana Botanical Garden no longer need to park by the roadside because a four-storey public car park has opened to in Jalan Cenderawasih, near the Bukit Aman mosque.
The 15,793 sq m car park which cost RM19 million has410 parking units, including 24 for female drivers and four for the disabled.
The project, which took two years to complete, comprises two new restaurants on the rooftop and four upgraded stalls on the ground floor.
“This is the concept that we aimed for, where car parks also include community facilities. We want our spaces to have maximum usage,” said Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib at the soft launch.
He added that other City Hall car park projects in Taman Segar and Pudu would also include community halls and wet markets.
Although City Hall is providing more car park facilities, Phesal said it wanted to discourage people from driving into the city and promote the usage of public transport.
The Jalan Cenderawasih car park will be free for the public until Jan 18.
“We believe that a RM3 per entry charge is reasonable. However, the parking fee system is still under revision because we don’t want people working around this area to park there for the whole day.
“We need to give priority to the botanical garden visitors,” he said.
The car park is equipped with motion detectors. Lights above each parking bay indicate whether the unit is vacant or not.
Among other upgrades in the botanical garden that have been completed are the orchid kiosk, boat house, canopy structure and Deer Park.
A tourist information centre, the Lat’s Playground and a herbarium are expected to open next year.