Jalan TAR traders in the dark over road closure plan
KUALA LUMPUR: Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman traders are becoming increasingly jittery over City Hall’s plan to close a 1km stretch of the street.
A check by the New Straits Times found that they are still in the dark over what lies ahead as the authorities have yet to provide them with traffic studies or viable alternatives to support the closure.
Batu Road Retailers Association (BRRA) vice-president Datin Rohana Mohammad Nasir said the March 15 date for the imposition of the plan, earlier announced by Mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan, was two weeks away but City Hall had not shown them any traffic study or viable plan.
She said Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad had a discussion with 10 traders after a recent walkabout. He listened to their objections but did not convey any plan.
“Until now, there is no indication from the (Federal Territories) minister on whether City Hall conducted traffic studies.
“If it has been done, none has been made known to us.”
Khalid had said the Ramadan bazaar in Jalan Masjid India would remain there.
“Are they going ahead with the closure or not? One of their ideas was to use the road for the bazaar.”
She said the alternatives suggested to shoppers and loaders was to make a 1km to 2km detour via Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Esfahan, Jalan Kuching and Jalan Raja Laut to get to Masjid India.
“This means an additional 30 to 45 minutes on the road due to congestion. This means increasing cars on the chock-a-block roads of Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Ipoh and Jalan Parlimen. How is it going to reduce traffic in the city?”
She said the looming loading nightmare had yet to be addressed, as deliverymen would be forced to use the narrow congested inner roads of Lorong Gombak and Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
The roads were prone to illegal parking and hogged by hawkers.
Rohana said if City Hall went ahead with the closure, traders would have no option but to stick to their plans to go on strike by shutting down their shops on March 15.
Kamdar Group managing director Kamal Kamdar said everyone was on edge.
“It’s a bearish economy and if you take a drive on the stretch itself there are more than 10 shoplots that are unoccupied.”
“Doing this will force many more to close shop, or to downsize. This will affect the 10,000odd workers who work in businesses and shops in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Masjid India.”
Kamal had earlier projected a 50 per cent or more decline in business for traders along the stretch if the plan went ahead.