DBKK tackles hazardous parking
Published on: Thursday, September 29, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
A member of City Hall’s RPG checks on the condition of Jalan Pintas Damai.
City Hall plans to have flexi-posts placed in the middle of a road between two Kepayan Ridge commercial centres to deter motorists from parking haphazardly, with vehicles encroaching into one of the two lanes which make up the stretch.The agency’s Traffic and Transport Department (TTD) is also arranging to repair a road between a Damai neighbourhood and the commercial property nearby.
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This follows feedback from several drivers about the inconvenience they have been experiencing due to the congestion and potholes at the respective locations.
A TTD spokesman said flexi-posts would be put on Ruang Ridgeview 2 once the necessary funds were available.
“Our staff made two separate inspections of the road in September after we learned of the road woes from the media,” he said.
“They monitored the movement of traffic here, during these checks, and confirmed that the flow would improve if both lanes remained clear.”
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He said the presence of flexi-posts might facilitate a smoother flow of traffic on the stretch.
TTD staff monitoring the traffic situation on Ruang Ridgeview 2 yesterday morning.
“There is a better traffic flow along roads where flexi-posts have been installed such as on Jalan Bahasa in the City and Lorong Pokok Kayu Manis in the Damai area.”
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He said the TDD was in the midst of trying to secure an allocation to erect these structures on Ruang Ridgeview 2.
“Failing this, we will have the cost for this work included in our budget for 2023.”
A spokesman for City Hall’s Enforcement Department (ED) said it had received two reports about illegal parking taking place on Ruang Ridgeview 2, so far, this year.
Some shops at Marketplace 88 and the Seri Kepayan Commercial Centre were situated on either side of this road, according to him.
“Our officers responded to the most recent report by making separate checks of the road during the day and at night on Tuesday,” he said on September 28.
They found that drivers, going to coffeeshops along the stretch, were leaving their cars where they should not, according to him.
“There are no parking lines painted on the surface of the road.
“On top of this, our staff noted that the vehicles obstructed the flow of traffic, occasionally creating a jam.”
He said errant drivers were warned against parking haphazardly on Tuesday night, with ‘notis peringatan mesra (friendly notices)’ placed under the windscreen wipers of their vehicles.
“No one was compounded in this instance but our officers may consider doing so in future.
“They have been asked to periodically keep an eye on the road to minimise the incidence of illegal parking here.”
Under the City Hall’s Provision of Parking Places By-laws (Coupon Parking) 2014, those who left their vehicles in undesignated parking spaces could be liable to a compound of up to RM500, according to the spokesman.
“Motorists can be deemed to have parked illegally, if there are no demarcations on the road occupied by their vehicles.
He said repeat offenders and those who failed to settle their compounds could be taken to court.
If they are found guilty they risk being slapped with a RM20,000 fine, serving a 12 month jail term or both, according to him.
Meanwhile, City Hall will patch up the damaged sections of Jalan Pintas Damai, once it manages to replenish its supply of asphalt.
The TDD spokesman said the lack of this material had held up efforts to repair the stretch which links Taman Sinar to Damai Plaza Phase 2.
“We have received multiple reports going all the way back to October last year about the potholes on the road,” he said.
He said the agency’s road-patching gang (RPG) had attended to the stretch on and off over the intervening period but the damage always resurfaced a few months later.
The presence of flexi-posts has improved the movement of vehicles on Jalan Bahasa in the City.
“The RPG noted that there were more potholes than before when they checked on the road in early September.
The spokesman said the crew would reseal the stretch once the agency had obtained more asphalt and provided good weather prevailed.
LUCILLE, who works at an office in the Damai Plaza Phase 2, said she had been contacting the agency, on and off, about the problems with the road since October 2021.
“I was made to understand, a month later, that City Hall had forwarded my grouse to the government concessionaire,” she said.
“The company’s staff was advised to inspect the road and carry out repairs, if it warranted.
“Nothing has come of this effort, so far,” Lucille said.
MAWAR, who lives in Taman Sinar also bemoaned the agency’s failure to follow-up on action to restore the stretch.
“The surface of the road is pock-marked with so many holes which become deeper after each downpour,” she said.
“Gravel was poured over the damaged sections at one stage but the stones have since been dispersed by the many cars which use the road.”
Mawar said a good samaritan recently filled some of the potholes with leftover building material.
“Whoever did this may have felt that City Hall was taking too long to attend to the stretch.”
EVON of Penampang expressed her concern about the traffic hazards which arose because of the many cars which were illegally parked on Ruang Ridgeview 2.
She said motorists, trying to swerve around the haphazardly parked vehicles, ran the risk of colliding with the traffic coming from the opposite direction.
“The inconsiderate action of these vehicle-owners caused a bad jam to form at lunch time and during the peak hour after offices close for the day,” she said.
“I related my displeasure about what was taking place to City Hall in writing on May 26 and July 25.
“When no action was forthcoming, I even reported the traffic woes in this part of Kepayan Ridge to the agency’s staff, over the phone.”
Evon hoped the agency would take this problem seriously and not wait for an accident to occur, and lives to be lost, before it intervened.
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