Car culture is the problem, not roadside dining

 Imposing fines on hawkers for blocking public spaces is a start, but the real need is to give people priority over cars through bold urban design.

From Boo Jia Cher

It is a welcome sign that Kuala Lumpur’s mayor, Maimunah Sharif, is taking the city’s pedestrian experience seriously. Her latest move for a task force to regulate alfresco dining and reclaim pedestrian spaces marks a rare show of political will in a city that has long neglected pedestrians.

But let us be clear: this must only be the beginning.

Regulating hawkers and removing plastic chairs is a start, but it is a modest intervention when the larger crisis is one of systemic car dominance.

What good are clear pavements if the rest of the city remains a hostile, fractured landscape for pedestrians?

The car problem

Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfields is often celebrated as a high-footfall heritage corridor and a key artery adjacent to KL Sentral. Yet, despite its vibrant surroundings and walkable neighbourhood, the road itself feels more like a chaotic, multi-lane thoroughfare dominated by speeding vehicles that undermine the area’s potential.

If the Kuala Lumpur City Hall is serious about creating a walkable city, it must confront the real obstacle: the priority given to cars. The danger to pedestrians and the degradation of public space are primarily the result of excessive space allocated to private vehicles.

Shrink traffic lanes

Instead of cracking down on small vendors, why not redesign streets by expanding sidewalks and reducing traffic lanes? Wider walking areas benefit everyone, creating safe, comfortable, and dignified spaces.

These changes would also give room for street food culture to thrive, without compromising accessibility. We shouldn’t have to choose between walkability and vibrancy. Thoughtful design can accommodate both.

What about illegal parking?

A plastic chair and table can be moved easily, but a two-ton pickup truck parked on a pavement blocks pedestrians for hours. Illegal parking is rampant, from cars on zebra crossings to motorcycles clogging five-foot ways.

The enforcement imbalance is glaring: why target street vendors but tolerate vehicles that render walkways unusable?

DBKL should adopt technology-driven solutions, like the “Report Illegal Parking” app in Seoul, South Korea, which lets citizens document violations with real-time alerts to enforcement.

A Malaysian equivalent, an “Aduan” app, could crowdsource reports, tagging licence plates and dispatching officers efficiently.

Pedestrian crossings

Walkability is about continuity. Across KL, pedestrians are routinely forced to dangerously cross extremely wide roads with no street-level crossings.

The junction of Jalan Hang Tuah and Jalan Pudu, in front of Lalaport, is a glaring example of infrastructural insanity: a vast sea of asphalt, along with an underpass for cars, built for speed, not pedestrian safety and dignity.

Tourists and locals alike are seen dashing across lanes of moving traffic, not for thrill, but because the nearest overhead bridges are a 10-minute detour. If jaywalking is endemic, perhaps the city has failed, not the pedestrian.

Streets need life, not just order

A walkable city must also feel safe, vibrant, and human, especially at night. A dim, empty pavement next to a busy road is reluctantly walkable, even if it’s physically clear.

Ironically, the very alfresco dining setups being targeted can enhance safety by putting more “eyes on the street.” The problem thus isn’t street activity, it’s poor design that fails to balance vibrancy with accessibility.

Good lighting helps, but people are what make streets feel alive. That means shops, vendors, families, street performers, diners. Safety comes from thoughtful design, not sterile uniformity.

Cities like Tokyo and Copenhagen use traffic-calming features (narrower lanes, trees, reduced speed limits) to create streets where walking feels natural and pleasant. KL must learn from these examples.

A radical mindset shift

Mayor Maimunah’s efforts are commendable, but KL needs a fundamental redesign. Cities like Amsterdam and Barcelona transformed by deprioritising cars: the former through cycling infrastructure, the latter via “superblocks” that restrict through-traffic in neighbourhoods.

What’s delaying KL’s car-free zone in Bukit Bintang or a congestion charge like that of London and Singapore? Why do we sneer at the poor migrant struggling to cross a road while wowing at Porsche drivers?

Walking shouldn’t be an act of defiance or helplessness; it should be a safe, dignified choice for everyone, rich or poor.

The mayor herself should walk the talk—literally. She should join a walking audit team every month, traversing the city from one end to the other to personally inspect the state of our walkways. Feel every cracked curb, every missing crossing, and every stretch where a pedestrian risks their life. - FMT

Boo Jia Cher is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.