Contra-flow bus lane aborted in less than three months

Wednesday, 08 February 2012 09:44

THE contra-flow bus and taxi lane system implemented in Brickfields, which was supposed to be on trial for three months, has been aborted.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) personnel have started removing the barriers and cones that separated the bus and taxi lane on Sunday night.

By 11am yesterday morning, most of the signboards and barriers used to direct traffic for the contra-flow system, were removed and the traffic was reverted to the old one-way system with buses and taxis moving along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

Federal Territories and Urban Wellbeing Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin had announced last Tuesday that the contra-flow bus and taxi lane would be aborted and buses would once again ply Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

The contra-flow lane began on Dec 3 last year after much debate and protest by stakeholders and residents in the area.

The lane began at the intersection of Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Tun Sambanthan 4 and went through Little India and into Taman Seputeh and Bangsar through Jalan Travers.

However, residents along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad are unhappy that the buses and taxis are now using the road.

Under the contra-flow system, buses and taxis bypassed the residential area in Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

Palm Court Condominium resident, Ben Liang, 40, said he was unhappy with the decision because the residents were not consulted.

“It took so many months to implement the system after giving our reasons to the authorities. Now they have reverted to the old system overnight without even consulting us,” he said, adding that the move to abort the system was unfair to the residents.

Liang said the main problem was the noise pollution caused by heavy vehicles using Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

“The main road is Jalan Tun Sambanthan while Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad is a secondary road which is not meant for taxis and buses.

“It is unfair to the residents as there are other options,” he added.

Palm Court Condominium Joint-Management Body secretary Ganesh Balasundram said the contra-flow system had received a lot of positive feedback from the residents along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

“Now that the authorities have reverted to the old sysem, the safety of the students and children is also a concern as there are many schools in the area,” said Ganesh.

“Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad is not designed for this kind of traffic. We hope that this is only temporary and not a permanent solution,” he said, adding that the residents would appeal to the authorities to reverse the decision.

The move to implement the contra-flow system had earlier received mixed reactions from stakeholders and residents.

Residents along Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad supported the decision to ensure that less traffic went through the housing areas of Brickfields.

However, the business community in Brickfields were unhappy that the bus lane cost them the parking bays in front of their shops and an accident sparked outrage among the people.

On the first day of the contra-flow, a father and his teenage son were injured after being hit by a bus while crossing the road as they were not aware of the contra-flow system.

About 150 people held a protest several days later carrying black flags and shutting their outlets for an hour to show their frustration over the poor traffic management and lack of parking bays, which led to a 50% drop in business.

Despite the protest, City Hall decided to go ahead with the contra-flow lane and requested the people to give the system some time to work.

About 150 outlet owners and residents in Jalan Tun Sambanthan later signed a memorandum to protest against the contra-flow system, stating that it has caused inconvenience and affected their businesses.

From The Star