Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Civil Engineering lecturer, Masria Mustafa, and road safety expert Kulanthayan KC Mani from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) said it will only lead to more private vehicles on the roads and also cause bottlenecks when vehicles reduce speed to merge into single lanes at exit points, Bernama reported.
Masria added that increasing road capacity will also see people continue the habit of using private vehicles instead of public transport.
“This is supported by the theory of induced demand, and that is why this congestion problem will not be solved,” she told Bernama.
Masria said she was also worried about the impact on the environment that these projects would cause.
Last week, residents of Section 14 here staged a protest against the PJD Link project, with Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah urging the government to explain why it was rushing to implement the proposed highway.
They also wanted to know why the project was approved without any impact reports being done like in previous highway projects.
The works ministry responded by saying that the approval given to the proposed project is subject to further negotiations, adding that it was approved in principle by the Cabinet on Nov 12, 2017 and a concession agreement was signed on April 5.
Under the terms of the agreement, the developer must submit Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) reports before construction of the project could begin.
Sharing Masria’s view, Kulanthayan said the construction of the highway will cause more traffic congestion.
“More lanes being offered will lead to more bottleneck situations where vehicles reduce speed to merge (into a single lane), and in turn slow down the flow of traffic,” he said.
Haphazard traffic control
On another note, Masria called for traffic management plans, especially those located near construction sites, to be carried out more comprehensively and effectively to reduce traffic congestion within Kuala Lumpur.
She said construction projects carried out simultaneously due to delays caused by the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) for more than two years, have resulted in haphazard traffic control.
“Every agency involved in construction must be responsible with better communication between them. For example, whenever large construction structures are to be brought in (to the city), there must be proper road planning, including the need for road closures.
“However, currently there is no such coordination. So the parties involved, such as developers and contractors, do not know about traffic control in other areas. As such, the traffic will be uncontrolled and there will be many ‘bottlenecks’ that cause congestion,” she said, according to Bernama.
Citing the ban on heavy vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes entering the city centre during peak hours by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) since late last month, Masria said it did not make a difference to the existing traffic congestion in and around KL.
She said that was because the ban would be difficult to achieve if not implemented in an integrated manner by other local authorities in the Klang Valley as well.
“These heavy vehicles can use other routes, such as through Petaling Jaya where the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) does not implement the same rule.
“Hence, the problem of congestion will still occur because the movement and route of vehicles involve the entire Klang Valley,” Masria was quoted as saying by Bernama.