Of parking woes and intelligent city
(The Star, Thursday, 7 January 2010 – Metro – Page, 6 )
Parking and its woes are not the singular and only characteristic that makes a city intelligent. Intelligent cities and township culminate and integrate all dimensions of human and artificial intelligence in that place. The people who reside and use these cities must equally embrace the changing natures demanded in such environment.
Cyberjaya, for instance, has been designed for a park-and-ride transportation model. Fundamental to this is alleviating traffic jams (often also a grouse of users), promoting the use of public transportation and making the city more green.
The free park-and-ride service has been provided as a viable alternative to driving and parking indiscriminately in Cyberjaya. In support of this, the Cyberjaya Park & Ride Shuttle Service enables users to park their cars for free at designated areas. A total of 1,149 car parking bays have been made available. Drivers can hop on to the shuttle buses that ply two different routes every 15 minutes, covering the whole of Cyberjaya.
The automated parking meters implemented by the Sepang Municipal Council (MPSp) where users have to “Pay & Display”, has been in effect since April 2009 (238 parking spots / 40 sen per hour). This was done to curb haphazard and illegal parking along the curbs and road shoulders.
CCTV / real time video are also implemented to identify traffic congestion problems. To enhance traffic management, Cyberview has increased surveillance of red light runners, gathering of traffic information and increased enforcement in special traffic zones.
But the intelligence of Cyberjaya hinges on much more than its parking. It lies in other developments. It lies in the accountability of the people who use the place.
For instance, Cyberview is focusing on efforts to increase the number of SMEs and MNCs in Cyberjaya. The implementation of the Cyberjaya Graduate Attachment and Training (GREAT) Programme is another which serves to train and retain knowledge workers in Cyberjaya.
Cyberview has also developed several green initiatives for Cyberjaya. This includes instituting green elements in physical planning practices, education exercises on Cyberjaya Green roadmap, green elements in the construction of buildings in Cyberjaya and The upcoming launch of cyberjaya-tv.com, Gamesfest, Digital Story Telling, Cyberjaya SME Showcase, WCIT, participation in CommunicAsia & World Environment Day, MyCORE, MSC Great ICT Sales, and the launch of the MyHome@Cyberjaya are a few efforts to digitise information in Cyberjaya.
But, to enable the success of these developments, there must be mindset change of users of the cities and of those writing about it.
Cities and places cannot progress with only artificial intelligence when accountability towards such levels of intelligence is rebuked. It must be accompanied with human commitment to a new and improved way of life.
