Evening rush hour traffic at the start of Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang with six lanes converging before the Glenmarie LRT station. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS, SHAARI CHEMAT and MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
GRIDLOCKS due to choke points along with poor lighting are making the daily commute for thousands who travel along Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang, Selangor, arduous.
Those affected say the federal road is at its capacity and needs a major upgrade, while the malfunctioning street lamps are a serious cause of concern.
In February, Putrajaya approved the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) to upgrade the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, also known as Subang Airport, and its surrounding area of 477.33ha.
Traffic building up near the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. The airport is seeing an increase in flights since Aug 1.
The plan will transform the aerotropolis into a business aviation hub, aerospace ecosystem and city airport.
SARP includes developing the site into a drone test area and aircraft maintenance facility, among other initiatives.
With the increase of flights from the airport since Aug 1 and the major expansion plans, stakeholders fear road conditions will only get worse.
Sunil says he spends two hours commuting to and from work.The 9.5km road links Subang Jaya, Sungai Buloh, and Petaling Jaya. It’s also a connection to major routes like Jalan Sungai Buloh, Federal Highway, New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE), Subang–Kelana Jaya Link, and Damansara-Shah Alam Expressway (DASH).
Constantly congestedAccording to Petaling Jaya resident Sabrina Choo, congestion from Jalan Sungai Buloh towards Federal Highway occurs at three choke points: at the Subang Airport terminal, the roundabout as well as the portion between the Ara Damansara and Glenmarie LRT stations (see map).
“Traffic towards the Federal Highway and Subang Jaya is bad almost all the time, except on Sundays, long weekends or festive breaks,” said Choo.
“Since moving to Ara Damansara in 2010, I have noticed a steady increase of vehicles using the Subang airport road corresponding with the rising number of developments.
“While a portion of the road was expanded because of the Ara Damansara and Glenmarie LRT stations, it didn’t improve traffic flow,” Choo said.
The congestion, she said, usually happens between 4pm and 9pm, and in some cases stretching right up to 10pm.
Subang Airport Regeneration Plan includes creating an aviation hub, aerospace ecosystem and city airport. (Left) Traffic passing the Ara Damansara LRT station heading towards the Federal Highway during rush hour.
“I believe one of the main reasons is due to the road bottlenecks and convergence of vehicles,” said Choo, adding that some portions of the road, especially near the Ara Damansara LRT station, were also affected by flash floods.
G. Sunil, a Shah Alam resident who works in Subang Jaya, said he spends two hours commuting to and from work.
“I use the Subang airport road to get between Taman Pelangi to USJ 1. The alternative routes are the NKVE and DASH highways or the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, but paying to use the highways is expensive and the journey takes about the same time,” he said.
Sunil said the evening congestion would often start from the end of the Subang-Kelana Jaya Link until the NKVE on-ramp.
Choo has noticed a steady increase of vehicles using the airport road.“It can take about 20 minutes just to move about 1km, because six lanes have to merge into two lanes,” he said.
Dangerously dark
Sunil, who also uses the road frequently at night, added that many street lamps had not been working for some time.
“Some stretches of road have not been lit for the past few months, posing a danger to road users.
“Some lights have been coming on and off lately, and some just flicker,” he added.
Due to some stretches being a four-lane dual carriageway, he said, lights on the side of the road were not enough to illuminate the area.
“This is a bad situation for such a major road because it is not in good condition. Some parts dip quite badly at the uneven sections and many vehicles tend to speed along here,” Sunil said.
A check by StarMetro confirmed the road was inconsistently lit, with some sections well illuminated from the sides and others having lights only along the central reservation which separate the traffic flowing in different directions.
Only a handful of street lamps surrounding the Glenmarie and Ara Damansara LRT stations were in working order while the flyover at the Ara Damansara entrance was unlit.
The section of road near the airport terminal (between the air control tower and the airport runway bridge) was poorly lit with only two central reservation lights providing illumination through the dense foliage.
On the other hand, the sections between the private hospital and the roundabout and between the Subang Airport terminal until the DASH on-ramp were well lit.
Sunil said the poor lighting also caused motorists to be caught off guard by sudden changes to the road, especially with ongoing construction projects.
“Recently, there was an interlocking paver placed on the road because of a construction project near the airport terminal. I saw a number of motorists being forced to brake abruptly to avoid hitting the pavers.”
Another Shah Alam resident who wanted to be known only as Wong said he would usually be extra careful when driving along the airport road.
The Section U2, Saujana Resort resident said he had a close call with a motorcyclist who was riding a motorbike without working lights recently.
“The rider zoomed past me on the left just as I was about to move to the left lane,” said the retiree.
Wong said it was even harder to read the road conditions when it rained, due to the bright billboards and unlit roads.
Channelling complaints
The road falls under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (JKR) and straddles areas under the Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya city councils.
When contacted about the ongoing issues, spokespersons from both city councils acknowledged the challenges faced by commuters and residents.
Both explained that complaints received by the councils regarding Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang were forwarded to JKR for further action.
“We will first check if the matter falls under the council’s jurisdiction. If it’s not, then we will pass it along to the agency that is involved whether by writing, email or the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA),” said the MBSA spokesman.
“Alternatively, the public can send in complaints directly through the Public Complaints Management System (SISPAA: https://jkr.spab.gov.my) or JKR’s MyJalan KKR mobile application,” said the spokesperson.
