Folk see red over one-way system

Saturday May 2, 2009 - The Star
Folk see red over one-way system

KUALA TERENGGANU: The one-way system implemented by Kuala Terengganu City Council (MBKT) along several main streets in the city has resulted in more anguish than joy among motorists.

Although MBKT has spent millions to implement the system, locals claim the objective of addressing traffic bottlenecks in the city has not been achieved.

At the end of March, the busy Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Air Jernih and Jalan Batas Baru were turned into one-way streets to overcome heavy traffic congestion during weekdays.

But the implementation has angered city folk as they feel MBKT did not carry out proper studies or conduct test runs before implementing the one-way road system.

The Star met several motorists on a recent Sunday and all of those interviewed gave the system the thumbs down.

Engineer Salahuddin Rahim, 48, said the system had actually caused chaos, drifting from its purpose to improve the traffic situation in the city.

“Motorists now have to take a bigger turn to enter certain parts of the city and this causes choked points during rush hours,” he said.

Salahuddin said he was curious why the state, that has steady financial capacity through oil-royalty, did not opt for an elevated ring-road system.

“An elevated ring-road can reduce our burden without interrupting the previous dual traffic flow,” he said.

Senior Bank executive Ali Othman, 40, said the new system made it difficult for office workers to reach their work stations on time.

“We have to take several ridiculous diversions before reaching our office and it is time consuming,” he said.

Ali said even pedestrians felt it was hard to cross the four-lane one-way Jalan Sultan Ismail since the road system was introduced.

“There are no pedestrian bridges and councils workers have even stopped us for jaywalking,” he said.

Ali said MBKT should conduct in-depth studies on whether the system was suitable for narrow streets before implementing it.

“The council should now consider tunnels for pedestrians before accidents occur,” he added.