In getting ready for the eventual lift on lockdowns, Bukit Bintang’s well-known intersection crossing has received a Tokyo-style makeover!
It’s no secret that residents of Kuala Lumpur and beyond are missing their city badly, and the urge to immerse ourselves back into the urban chaos and bustle is gnawing at us terribly. Well, there will be one new thing to check out once we’re back on track with flattening the Covid curve: a new city flex at Bukit Bintang!
Modelled after Tokyo’s famous Shibuya crossing, also known as the ‘Shibuya Scramble Crossing,’ Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) unveiled the new and improved pedestrian crossing on June 19. Situated right above Bukit Bintang MRT station with connecting monorails, DBKL informs us that this new crossing will improve walkability in a high-traffic area such as Bukit Bintang.
“Pedestrians will be allowed to cross in all directions with the change,” DBKL stated. “These changes make it easier for road users who pass through the road as well as reduce the risk of accidents.”
The scramble junction, or ‘X-crossing’, is a system that helps people cross an intersection from all four directions – including diagonally and simultaneously when the traffic light turns red.
Apart from making foot traffic much more efficient, the new crossing will surely garner lots of attention from photographers, Instagrammers, and influencers ready to impress us with a variety of aesthetic and geometric images. And why not? After all, sometimes we need to be reminded of why we love our city so much.
So if you’re someone who has had to cancel that Tokyo trip in the last two years, you’ll be able to enjoy a small, small taste of it right here, hopefully very soon!
"ExpatGo welcomes and encourages comments, input, and divergent opinions. However, we kindly request that you use suitable language in your comments, and refrain from any sort of personal attack, hate speech, or disparaging rhetoric. Comments not in line with this are subject to removal from the site. "
