Tuesday August 11, 2009
Residents want a way out of the daily crawl
By LIM CHIA YING
THE traffic grind along Jalan Segambut, especially during peak hours, has become many residents’ worst nightmare as they ply the route daily.
And their worries have increased with the completion of a new commercial centre comprising shops and offices opposite Wisma Suhati.
The residents said once the new owners and tenants began occupying the units, the congestion would only get worse as the road was the shortest route to get to Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.
According to them, the two-lane road from Bandar Menjalara is squeezed into a one-lane road as one reaches Jalan Segambut.
A visit to the site showed that the congestion begins even before one reaches Jalan Segambut.
Terrible: Even on a Saturday morning, the road is congested as cars from three lanes squeeze into one as soon as they reach Jalan Segambut. Long-time resident Mohd Ishak Hj Sidin said many felt tortured by the jam they experienced daily, even on weekends and holidays.
According to him, Jalan Segambut is used by residents and motorists from Kepong, Mont’Kiara, Desa Park City, Taman Bukit Maluri, Taman Sri Sinar and Segambut Dalam.
Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said he had been receiving complaints from many residents over the issue and that he had raised it in parliament.
“I was told that there is a RM40mil allocation to upgrade Jalan Segambut into a three-lane road under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
“However, I was also told that the allocation had been used for other projects and the road-widening work never took off,” he said.
Lim claimed that he was asked to wait until 2010 for new allocations under the Tenth Malaysia Plan to be disbursed and that the residents would have to be patient for now.
“I’ve written two letters to the FT Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin when he took office but only received an acknowledgement.
“As a short-term measure, the traffic light timing was adjusted according to the traffic flow but this does not seem to have worked,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mohd Ishak urged the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the FT Ministry and the Works Department to find an alternative route for residents.
Mohd Ishak also hoped the new route would be created soon.
Another long-time resident Mohd Maswan Darjoh said he used Jalan Segambut often when going to homes of friends or relatives.
“The road is narrow as it is, but the number of road users and cars keeps increasing as many more developments and condominiums have come up in the surrounding areas.
“It is dreadful driving on this road and the congestion has been going on for about five years already,” Mohd Maswan, 56, who runs a business in Cheras, said.
Lim hoped that in future, the DBKL would take into consideration traffic impact and congestion before it approved new projects.
“We are not against development but it is unfair for residents to put up with the jams daily because the supporting infrastructure is not in place,” he said.
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