Jalan Air Putih, Ayer Itam

Jalan Air Putih (18 May 2013)

Jalan Air Putih, formerly Ayer Puteh Road, is the main road in the Reservoir Garden neighbourhood of Ayer Itam, Penang. This is the main access road to Reservoir Garden. Jalan Air Putih is located off the Air Itam Main Road. The area was developed in the late 1950s with residential houses as the urban sprawl of George Town began to spill out of its traditional boundary, as represented by Boundary Road.

Ayer Puteh Road connects with Reservoir Garden Road, the main thoroughfare in the residential neighbourhood of the same name, at the foot of the Ayer Itam Reservoir, from which it derived its name. The name Ayer Puteh (now written as Air Putih) comes from Sungai Air Putih, the river that flows through the area. Its name, which means "white water", describes its clear water, which compares with the murkiness of the bigger Sungai Air Itam.

The housing estates of Reservoir Garden was developed in the 1960s while Taman Ria in the mid 1970s. Near the junction with Jalan Air Itam are a number of coffee shops. There was a cinema here, the Cheong Nam, which has since closed down many years ago, though the building is still standing.

Before the Taman Ria neighbourhood was established, there was a playing field next to what is today the Taman Sri Idaman Apartment. That playing field has since been erased and turned into a parking lot. A community hall, the Pusat Rukun Tetangga Air Putih, was also built on part of the playing field land. In the morning, the Air Puteh Market operates on the service road beside Jalan Air Putih.