Physical separators plan for Jln P’pang
Published on: Monday, March 16, 2020
By: Sidney Skinner
Low mound curbs were put in place near the SGCC roundabout.
The Public Works Department (PWD) plans to have physical separators built along the traffic lanes at the section of Jalan Penampang which leads to the roundabout in the Towering area.A PWD spokesman said similar structures would also be put up in Putatan, the Kg Pulutan area of Manggatal and at the roundabout near Wisma Perkasa in the City.
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He said this work had been included in a list of proposed projects which the Department hoped to carry out this year.
“The separators will take the form of low mound curbing to ensure that drivers do not recklessly change lanes while approaching the roundabout,” he said.
“They should prove to be a more lasting physical barrier.
“We tentatively hope to start constructing the separators near the Towering roundabout by the first quarter of the year.”
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The spokesman was responding to a Penampang motorist’s suggestion for the PWD to have the flexi-posts around the roundabout replaced with a more durable structure.
The driver said the existing posts on the main road in the Towering area were badly in need of maintenance.
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He said many of the posts had been run-over, allowing inconsiderate drivers to encroach into the adjacent traffic lanes.
The individual related his observations in a letter to Hotline which was forwarded to the Department.
The spokesman acknowledged receipt of this document, saying a site-inspection was carried out shortly after the agency became aware of the motorists concerns.
SEBASTIAN of Penampang said the flexi-posts at the Towering roundabout were intended to preserve the smooth flow of traffic at the roundabout.
Many of the flexi-posts near the Towering roundabout have been damaged.
“The posts were put up to delineate traffic lanes and keep drivers in their respective lanes but they are frequently rammed into by irresponsible road-users,” he said.
“After these structures are destroyed, the local authorities will replace them with new posts which do not last long.”
He noticed that these structures had been replaced several times already.
Sebastian said the lack of posts near the roundabout was potentially hazardous to the public.
“I shared my concern with another driver who personally claimed to have seen a car recklessly speeding from the Towering area towards a petrol kiosk near the roundabout.
“The motorist cut across the lanes as there were no posts in his/ her way.”
Given as how the posts had not proven durable, he was at a loss to understand why they kept being erected over and over again.
“The relevant agency should consider constructing yellow concrete dividers instead.”
He said such “lane-dividers” were built near the roundabout on Jalan Kolam, near the Sabah Golf and Country Club.
“Before the dividers were built, drivers had previously been cutting across the lanes, endangering the other road-users here.
“One night, I personally saw a speeding car scrape against the divider.
“The driver found out the hard way that he/ she should stay within his/ her lane as there was an ugly scratch on his/ her vehicle.”
Sebastian hailed the concrete dividers as being more effective than the posts, when it came to deterring reckless behaviour on the road.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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