BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Poll shows dissatisfaction with public transport system

OVER 80 per cent of poll respondents favour a Light Rail Transport system to ease the capital’s traffic woes, with 93 per cent saying they were dissatisfied with the current state of the public transport system.

These are among the findings of the BSB Development Masterplan online survey over The Brunei Times website. On average there were over 490 respondents to the various questions.

Developing tourism spots was also listed as a high priority, with 97 per cent of 497 respondents saying they were not happy with current tourist attractions.

About one-third of the respondents (32 per cent) were not aware of the new city limits which were extended from 12.87 square kilometres to 100.36 square kilometres in 2007.

The majority (82 per cent) of the respondents approved of the Riverfront Corridor City Concept under the BSB re-development plan.

However, 10 per cent of respondents said they were not aware of the concept or did not have sufficient knowledge to say whether it was a suitable option.

One respondent commented: “I have no idea what such a concept will look like” and another requested city planners to “make available visual data in all media”.

The table was split as to what should be the masterplan’s priority, with 37 per cent saying it should be improving public transport while 35 per cent saying it should be developing tourist spots.

Twelve per cent said the focus should be on increasing the capital’s sanitation and cleanliness, while other respondents commented that more entertainment and shopping complexes should be built and parking facilities in the city centre improved.

The bulk of those polled, 81 per cent, named Gadong the liveliest area of the capital followed by Kiulap (nine per cent), Serusop (two per cent) and Bunut (three per cent). Other spots took a total of five per cent.

When asked which was most important Kg Ayer regeneration or Downtown regeneration 13 per cent voted for downtown regeneration compared to six per cent for Kg Ayer. However, the majority (77 per cent) stressed that the regeneration of both were equally important.

The survey also asked what natural disaster the city should be prepared to deal with, 76 per cent responding flooding and 12 per cent said landslides. Other concerns raised were the possibility of tsunamis and drought.

The central message from the poll results was the desire for change, 97 per cent of respondents saying that BSB needed an organised city infrastructure.

The Municipal Board strongly encourages the public to provide their input and feedback during the upcoming BSB Development Masterplan public participation forum tomorrow and Thursday, at the BSB Planning Information Centre in the Bumiputera Trade and Commercial Complex, Jalan Cator.

The public is also invited to visit the masterplan exhibition at the centre which will be on display for two weeks from June 25 to July 8.

The Municipal Board will still be collecting public input through the online survey on the The Brunei Times website until later this week, after which a new set of questions will be available.

The Brunei Times

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