“All the projects in the city are well maintained and used by city folk,” said mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz.

He said the projects were undertaken for the convenience of city folk.

“We urge the public to utilise the facilities provided by DBKL,” he said yesterday at DBKL headquarters.

Amin was commenting on a Star Metro report that projects such as pedestrian bridges in Brickfields, the Integrated Transport Information System (Itis), Ain Arabia (Arab Street) in Bukit Bintang, and Orchard in the City (Jalan Bellamy) had failed.

He said the five pedestrian bridges in Brickfields were built as part of the Little India project to cater for the schoolchildren and the blind community in the area.

Amin said when the main road in Brickfields was turned into a one-way lane, the traffic flowed continuously.

“That was the reason we built the pedestrian bridges for the convenience of the community there.”

On the Itis system, Amin said it was the government’s idea to manage the traffic in the city.

“The Itis project has been very successful. The system provides information on the traffic situation and monitors all the traffic activities around the city.

“The system is managed by DBKL, police and the Road Transport Department to ensure smooth traffic flow.”

Amin said the Ain Arabia pocket park in Bukit Bintang served as a recreational area for tourists and Malaysians.

“The park, costing RM3.5 million, is just like any other pocket park we have built around the city.

“We understand that sometimes there are vagrants there, but we will continue to monitor and carry out maintenance at the park.”

On the Orchard in the City project, Amin said that the facility was well utilised by city folk.

“There are many functions held here and we are always organising fruit bazaars during the various seasons.”

Star Metro had reported that two years after they were built in 2010 for RM11 million, five pedestrian bridges on Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad were found to be not only under-utilised, but vandalised.

The report said Itis cost more than RM365 million when launched in 2012.

It was intended to gather, process and supply real-time traffic information to reduce traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur.

Just a few months later, Itis had become a target for vandals.

After 16 years, the system was given a new lease of life when DBKL privatised the project and a new and improved Itis was unveiled, but it cost an extra RM200 million.

According to Star Metro, Ain Arabia cost RM10 million to build but the once popular landmark is not only showing signs of decay, but had become a hangout for vagrants.

The report also said the Orchard in the City cost of RM17.2 million. The fruit and herb garden is meant to be a major tourist draw, but soon after it opened, the fruit trees started dying and some of its facilities began to crumble.