Update : Taman Lembah Kiara TTDI Upgrading

Updated: Name change of the park to reflect the actual place. Thanks to a kind gentleman that has alerted me about the wrong name. The park is Taman LEMBAH Kiara and not Taman RIMBA Kiara. Both park are within 500m of each other with the Rimba Kiara being at the begining of Jalan Abang Hj. Openg nearer to the Hindu Temple. Blog entry corrected to reflect actual spot where the current upgrading work is happening. On the more positive side, the committee has managed to secure an appointment with YB Dato' Rahman Dahlan, the Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government end of this month.

Much has been happening at the Taman Rimba Lembah Kiara at Jalan Abang Hj. Openg , infront of SK TTDI (2) primary school. The park has been in existence and I only found out about this place in the late 90's when I was studying in PJ. Taman Rimba Lembah Kiara is under the jurisdiction of Jabatan Lanskap Negara. I made the mistake to name the park as Taman Rimba Kiara, which is under Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) and is listed in the website as one of the 12-public parks dotted within Kuala Lumpur.
This park has been my "training ground" and Bukit Kiara has been my favourite mountain biking and trail running ground since I got to know about it. 
Memories of Taman Rimba Lembah Kiara
Most of you familiar to this place would remember the rubberised track that did not last too long before it was "upgraded" and replaced. Many would remember the hanging bridge that has since turned "unsafe". The fake waterfall were a favorite for many wedding photographers. The smaller pond upstream has turned septic and not many people sits near there anymore. The erection of the second toilet building, which has since de-commissioned because the sewerage septic tank were overflowing to the small stream below. The reflexology park where many need not pay expensive foot massages and rely on their own weight (and pain threshold) to use. A small loop at Taman Rimba (flat) is 1.2km and the upper hillier loop is about 1.6km. There was even a bike-wash area set up behind the existing toilet where it was built to cater for the bikers to hose their mountain bike down after a ride. I was told that the bike-wash was a contribution from a group of mountain-bikers with permission from DBKL. 
Today
Back about 2-month back, erection of signboards denoting upgrading of the park has been done. With the Bukit Kiara fencing and "demarcation" happening, this new development did bring some worry to myself particularly and to some, generally. Those of you familiar with the park will know that there are TWO huts built as a shelter during rain and they are underused tremendously. We also know about the vicious monkeys that are not afraid of human and would actually make themselves welcome at picnic by the river (I saw an invasion just two days before writing this article). Now, the park will see "upgrading". A total of four "Wakaf", or huts will be built around the short 1.2km loop (lower loop). That is 300m away from each other if you can count. Below are the photos of each at different stages of completion.

Now, I wonder why would we need this many huts, plus the existing TWO, that makes it to SIX in the park. Looking at the structure and how some of the reinforcement bars (re-bar) are being setup, It looked like they are planning for an additional structure to be build in the middle and it looked like a platform for chairs or a...BBQ pit?
Monkey Problems
Is is there really an issue? As human encroaches into the natural habitats of these animals, they are misplaced and their main source of food are being taken away due to development. Being "in the park" with leftovers of food and visitors feeding has made them lazy to gather food and it is not unusual to see them inside the rubbish bins and spewing all contents inside-out. With these "Wakaf" or huts being build thus encouraging visitors to use the park for Picnic and other activities, it may add to the potential of more rubbish being generated. This will start attracting vermin and it seems ironic that in the park just two weeks ago, promoted/raised awareness of Leptospirosis. 
Most of the rubbish problem at the park is due to human not being discipline enough to remove the rubbish they generated or re-packed uneaten food properly or removing it totally from the park. Feeding of these primates lend to potential attack issues especially if the monkeys see toddlers with food and see it as a "fair game". 
Previously, there has been "monkey trap" set up and unfortunately these primates trapped were left to starve to death. Not a very exciting prospect (or clean). Happy to see the trap been removed about a year ago. 
Upgrading, But At What Cost?
On Saturday as I was there with my son for his skating class, to my horror i saw two backhoe digging out the existing still-in-perfect-condition reflexology path. They also tear down the access route (cemented) to the existing hut and I wonder if the skate ground would be next to be removed. 

Tearing it all down. The Existing Wakaf serves it's purpose, so why build so many?

I do understand upgrading from time to time is good to ensure the park stay relevant to the visitors. Perhaps these Wakafs or Huts are placed based on feedback from users requesting/requiring more covered spaces for them to conduct their weekend recreational activities. These upgrades are not free definitely, as with any development, it comes with a price. Monetary wise it will require a hefty sum for these to be carried out. Beyond that, what does the future hold for Park like these? And furthermore bordering against development under the Ministry and Jabatan Lanskap Negara where Bukit Kiara will potentially see more destruction in the name of development. 

The Mother of All Wakaf - The ATVs storage yard

ATV Planned in Bukit Kiara?
When I saw this being build with a sign proudly claiming it to be "ATV Store", I was worried. Motorised vehicles in a Public Park is a dangerous approach to human safety. Bad enough that some people are cycling in the small loop-ed park, we really do not need the presence of ATV spewing exhaust fumes or moving about endangering public. 

Or are the ATVs meant for the Lanskap people to move in and out of Bukit Kiara trails which can only fit at most, TWO bicycles side by side?

Stay Tuned For More.