KAJANG - Residents of Alam Sari are urging the authorities to be more proactive in solving the severe traffic woes here, which has been getting worst day-by-day.
In airing their demand and frustrations with the situation, Alam Sari Resident Association chairman Datuk Fadzilah Mohd Salleh called for the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKJ) and Public Works Department to help them solve the issue as the roads there have been heavily congested since early last year.
Fadzillah explained that there were two main points of congestion, which is at the German-Malaysia Institute (GMI) traffic light junction and also at the tunnel junction in Kampung Sungai Tangkas nearby the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) commuter.
"This severe congestion problem started when the developer of the Serene Heights park, which is UEM Sunrise, opened the Serene Heights-Alam Sari road which caused a flood of vehicles from the Semenyih area to use the route as a shortcut to Bandar Baru Bangi and Kajang.
"The distance between Alam Sari and Jalan Reko is just around 2.5 kilometres, however residents of Alam Sari and those in the surrounding area have to endure a traffic jam for up to 30-40 minutes during peak hours," Fadzillah lamented.
He also added that on December 8, 2022, the association had a meeting with MPKJ, which was also attended by the Member of Parliament for Bangi,MPKJ Councillors, and representatives of SP Setia Berhad.
"In the meeting, all parties present agreed that the complete solution to the problem of congestion in this area was to build an alternative road to exit or enter Alam Sari from Jalan Reko, this alternative road will connect with the GMI bridge.
"However, the MPKJ representative informed us that the plan to build the alternative road cannot be implemented at this time since the proposed location is too close to the exit location for the Putrajaya-Bangi Expressway (PBE) project.
"Therefore, any proposal related to the alternative road should be coordinated with the PBE construction plan," said Fadzilah.
He added that the Resident's Association had also submitted a proposal, offering a short-term solution regarding the traffic congestion.
Fadzillah elaborated that said solution entailed the addition of an extra or widening of the road at the GMI traffic light intersection. The association also suggested for the repainting of the road lines at the tunnel junction of the UKM KTM Station.
He stated that he sent several letters and emails to the Director of MPKJs Engineering Department to follow up on the matter and also to obtain the most recent status related to the actions that MPKJ should implement in relation to this congestion problem; however, after more than seven months, there was still no action or work carried out by MPKJ to overcome the problem.
"This kind of unprofessional attitude disappoints us. Even MPKJ's promise to hold a meeting after Hari Raya Aidilfitri involving representatives consisting of residents, developer companies, consulting engineers appointed by MPKJ, MPs to explain the steps that MPKJ are taking to solve this matter has failed to be fulfilled until now.
"MPKJ approves so many housing project developments in this area, but seems to have no plans to improve the condition of access roads for the convenience of residents.
"If this congestion problem is not addressed, we cannot imagine the level of congestion that will be experienced when the new housing that is currently under construction is completed in the future." he stressed.
Despite the fact that the real estate development in the entire Alam Sari area has not yet been completed, Fadzilah mentioned that there are more than 1000 housing units which are already inhabited.
As the population of Alam Sari and the surrounding area grows, authorities such as MPKJ and JKR should consider upgrading the GMI bridge and the Alam Sari/Kg Sg exit and access road as the present road can no longer accommodate the increased number of vehicles utilising it.
"Therefore, we have no other choice but to hold a press conference today to draw public attention to the problem of congestion that plagues not only the residents of Alam Sari, but also the surrounding residents such as Serene Heights, Kg Sg. Tangkas, Tropical Park, University Park and others."
Fadzillah is urging for the authorities especially MPKJ to implement some short term measures such as widening of roads, adding lanes and also also painting clearer road lines at the GMI traffic light intersection and the tunnel intersection near the UKM commuter station.