PETALING JAYA: A residents’ group has rejected a transport expert’s suggestion that the proposed PJD Link can help solve worsening traffic jams in the area.
Stakeholders cum Residents Against PJD Link (ScRAP) Highway chairman David Yoong said the 25.4km highway will mostly benefit those travelling from Bandar Utama to Kinrara and vice versa, and not those in between.
“The highway is spatially expansive and it would have one-lane entrance and exit ramps that would choke up connections to existing highways and local roads.
“It will only get worse as these ramps are built on existing road medians and would interrupt existing fast lane traffic,” said Yoong, a civil engineer.
He was commenting on an FMT report in which a retired transport analyst said the combination of minibuses and a dispersal road like PJD Link can help ease congestion and solve first and last mile connectivity problems.
Yoong claimed that the PJD Link does not have any ramps that directly connect to the existing public transit stations.
However, according to PJD Link’s website, there are multiple ramps and connection hubs to existing public transit points including bus, MRT, LRT and KTM stations.
Yoong called for “comprehensive” studies on Petaling Jaya’s traffic woes, saying data was needed to find an optimal solution.
“Certain chokepoints during peak hours such as Jalan Templer and Jalan Gasing can be effectively relieved if short flyovers or tunnels are constructed to fly over the New Pantai Expressway to reach the south of PJ and Puchong,” he said.
Meanwhile, David Foo, a Section 12 resident, said he believed congestion could be eased with the construction of more entrance and exit ramps to the LDP highway.
“The main problems on the LDP are the chokepoints for getting on and off the highway,” he told FMT, adding that a series of ramps would help ensure a seamless transition.
He claimed the PJD Link would also see more road users passing through Petaling Jaya, effectively contributing higher carbon emissions in the area.
Mak Khuin Weng, a former Petaling Jaya councillor, said the root cause of the area’s traffic congestion was the continued development of high-rise buildings.
“How can an elevated highway reduce traffic caused by the many new tall buildings built indiscriminately? We keep allowing these buildings, but our road systems remain the same and can’t be changed due to limited space,” Mak told FMT.