Penang traffic among worst in country: BN

GEORGE TOWN: The traffic congestion here is shaping up to be among the worst in the country because the DAP-led state government has failed to address the issue, said Penang Barisan Nasional (BN).

In firing a salvo at the state government, Penang BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow said that instead of seeking to resolve the hot spot areas immediately, the state chose a long-term approach of trying to build an undersea tunnel and the three paired highways which would be linked to the main Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu expressway from George Town to Bayan Lepas.

The hot spots were in Bayan Baru (Jalan Tengah-Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah), Bayan Lepas (Free Trade Zones), Batu Lanchang, Air Itam, Jalan Sungai Pinang and roads in George Town, he said at a press conference.

On the mainland, he cited the Juru Auto City interchange areas besides roads leading to Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Jaya and Nibong Tebal.

Teng said with more motorists expected on the roads in the next few years, the state government would only make things worst as it likes to blame others instead of shouldering the responsibility to offer solutions.

He also pointed out that the proposed three paired highways would bring all the traffic on the island to the sole expressway.

“It will worsen the flow rate for the expressway as all cars would converge there. There is no proper study made.” The state had spent close to RM3 million to conduct a feasibility study of the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel but nothing concrete has emerged from it, he said. “If we had spent some of the money on resolving the problems in the hot spots, things would have been better in terms of traffic management here.” The traffic system is not fine tuned to accommodate the flow and increase in the number of vehicles, he added. For some roads, there are close to three pedestrian crossings, hampering the traffic flow and in one case, they had used an outdated model of a zebra pedestrian crossing which was last used in the 1990s, he said.