PJ tries one-way loop traffic system

PETALING JAYA: THE one-way loop system introduced by the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MBPJ) has resulted in massive traffic congestion in the roads involved, especially on the first day of the three-month trial on Sunday.

The roads include Jalan Sultan, Jalan Barat, Jalan Utara, Jalan Timur and Jalan Yong Shook Lin.

There were signboards to inform the public about changes in the traffic flow, barricades to divert traffic, and traffic police and MBPJ personnel were stationed at junctions to guide motorists. But, many were still confused over which way to go.

A few road users, mostly motorcyclists, were going in the wrong direction.

The traffic congestion was especially bad at the junctions of Jalan Barat and the slip road from the Federal Highway from 8am to 10am.

Adrian Anthony, who commutes by taxi from his home in Damansara Utama to his workplace in Section 8, said the new system would affect his monthly travel expenses.

“Metered taxis usually charged me around RM9, but with the new one-way loop system, the charges are now around RM13. This means I have to fork out a few ringgit more for my daily expenses,” said Adrian who has been living in Petaling Jaya for about 20 years.

“I do not see the need to change the traffic flow. I hope the council will call for a dialogue session with the public before implementing such a system and provide some insight on the rationality of the decision. The public would also be able to share their views.”

Meanwhile, Section 6 Rukun Tetangga chairman Rajesh Mansukhlal said he was disappointed because the council had not provided enough information to the public.

“I am not objecting to the council’s efforts in improving the traffic situation. But, they should have done it in a more organised way, with proper planning and it should not be implemented hastily.

“It was confusing because not enough information was provided to the public,” said Rajesh who has been living in Petaling Jaya since the 1960s.

“Instead of simply displaying maps by the side of certain roads, and some of them are in the wrong place, the council should have distributed maps with other details so that road users have a clear understanding of the new system.

“The maps should have been distributed at least a month before the new road system was introduced.”

Rajesh added that the council should have called for a dialogue session with the public during the weekends so that more people would be able to give their input.

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran, who had been observing the traffic situation since the system was introduced, said it had improved after the first day.

“Many of the motorists were unaware of the newly introduced one-way loop system and, thus, were confused and not sure which way to go. This was especially evident on the first day,” he said.

“A marathon run which was organised in the area, yesterday morning, without permission from MBPJ and traffic police also caused additional problems and confusion among motorists. The situation got better around 6pm.”

Rajiv said MBPJ personnel were deployed at the junctions of affected roads round-the-clock to guide traffic. Traffic police officers were also on duty from 6am to 10am and from 4pm to 7.30pm.

“MBPJ personnel and traffic police officers are being stationed at the junctions of the roads involved for about a week or more, depending on the traffic situation.

“The council’s plan is to carry out a three-month trial of the one-way loop system. The council may consider abandoning the system if the traffic situation does not improve.”

Rajiv said the council had received complaints from members of the public who were not happy with the new system.

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