SMC, JKR to jointly improve road safety
SANDAKAN: The Sandakan Municipal Council’s Highway and Public Utilities Committee (HPUC) and the Public Works Department (JKR) will jointly enhance road safety at the Bandar Utama (IJM) and Giant Hypermarket area at Mile 6.5, Jalan Utara, here.
“Based on feedback from the public, we and our counterparts from JKR have made an on-site visit to the area where quite a number of complaints on road safety issues have been received,” said Taren Sunil Manoharan, head of the SMC Highway & Public Utilities Committee.
The traffic light junction leading into Bandar Utama and Taman Tyng as well as the bus stop in front of Giant Hypermarket were the two targeted areas.
Present during the site visit were fellow HPUC members Bryan Chang Shak Hung, Amy Chin and Peter Soo.
During the site visit the HPUC members personally witnessed for themselves several cars and motorcycles driving right through the junction totally ignoring the red light.
“They were in fact speeding through to try to ‘beat’ the red light,” exclaimed Taren Sunil.
Meanwhile, at the bus stop in front of Giant Hypermarket, pedestrians could be seen taking ‘short cuts’ to cross the busy main road although there is a special pedestrian lane for them to cross safely.
Despite being located just next to the bus stop, this pedestrian lane is still very underutilized.
“For the safety of pedestrians, JKR will be looking into improving this pedestrian crossing by adding ‘blinking numbering’ to alert both vehicle drivers and pedestrians and hopefully prevent accidents,” said Taren Sunil.
Meanwhile, to discourage random crossing of roads, SMC will consider planting shrubs along certain sections of road dividers.
“We have noted that fencing along road dividers don’t seem to be enough to deter some impatient people from taking short cuts. In fact, some of these fences have even been vandalized. We hope planting shrubs and bushes will help,” Taren Sunil pointed out.
Meanwhile, Taren Sunil advised road users, pedestrians and drivers alike, to be more observing of traffic lights and rules when using roads and highways.
“We should not take things for granted. It is lives we are talking about. Abiding by traffic regulations will certainly help reduce the chances of getting injured or injuring someone. By then it will be too late to regret,” said Taren Sunil.