City Hall acts to patch damaged Sembulan road
Published on: Wednesday, December 28, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
A City Hall worker in the midst of sealing one of the potholes on Jalan Mentari.
City Hall has attended to the damaged sections of a road, which leads to three Sembulan commercial properties, and plans to restore the traffic demarcations on the 846-metre stretch.The District Council, on the other hand, has called on the government concessionaire to be more proactive in its efforts to look after the road leading to a Penampang village.
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This action was prompted by feedback from three motorists who work at offices in Riverson: The Walk, KK Times Square and Imago Shopping Centre – as well as a homeowner in Kg Novunsu – about the poor condition of the stretches in their respective areas.
They bemoaned the added expenses they had incurred because the undercarriage of their vehicles was frequently scrapping on the potholes which had formed in these roads.
A technician with the government concessionaire patching up the damaged portions of the access road to Kg Novunsu.
The office-workers also voiced their concern about the traffic hazards posed by the “faded lines” on the Sembulan stretch.
A City Hall spokesman said its Traffic and Transport Department managed to obtain a quantity of bitumen earlier this month to seal the damaged sections of Jalan Mentari in Sembulan.
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“An open truck was deployed just before Christmas to assist our road-patching gang (RPG) to deal with the potholes, especially those near the U-turn beside the Gleneagles Hospital,” he said.
He said the RPG team observed that many of the traffic demarcations – between the Jalan Coastal and Jalan Kemajuan junctions – could barely be seen.
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“The white lines and directional arrows will be repainted as soon as we can possibly do so,” he said.
“This has been included in the list of work which the Department intends to carry out next year.
He said priority would be accorded to restoring the traffic lines within the first few months of 2023.
“We realise that hundreds of vehicles, including ambulances, travel down Jalan Mentari daily and are focused on safe-guarding the well-being of these road-users.”
The Penampang District Council, meanwhile, admitted that driver-safety was its foremost reason for urging the government concessionaire to be more mindful about the condition of village roads maintained by the company.
A spokesman for the agency said an inspection was made on Kg Novunsu in mid-December, after it learned that the road to the area was damaged.
“Our personnel confirmed the presence of potholes in several parts of the stretch,” he said.
“They also observed that the edges of the road had been eaten away in some places.”
He said the concessionaire was apprised of these findings.
“The company’s technicians patched up the affected sections along a 230 metre span of the road a day later.”
JUDE, who works at Imago, was baffled by City Hall’s lackadaisical attitude towards the disappearing traffic demarcations on Jalan Mentari.
“I first noticed that the white lines on the road were becoming faint in April and brought this to the authority’s attention,” he said.
“When I contacted City Hall two weeks later, I was informed that the relevant Department intended to restore the markings in a few months’ time.”
He said many of the lines had since vanished from the road.
“Only traces of paint remain to indicate where these markings were originally painted.
“I am at a loss to understand why City Hall has failed to follow through on its plans.”
The agency’s inaction left ALI – who is based at Riverson: The Walk – equally crestfallen.
He reported the fading markings to the agency at the end of May.
An employee at a firm in KK Times Square, CRAEG, said drivers risked encroaching into the lane next to them because of the absence of the “white lines” on the road.
“This situation is especially dangerous at night or when there is downpour,” he said.
“I have witnessed motorists almost colliding with each other while leaving from work for the day on several occasions.”
Craeg said there were only supposed to be two lanes of cars here at any time, at least according to the markings on the road.
“However, because these demarcations have faded or are not clear anymore, as many as three lanes of traffic form on the stretch.”
Meanwhile, AMOS of Penampang, said motorists found it inconvenient to use the access road to Kg Novunsu due to the many potholes in the stretch.
“Whenever we refer this matter to the local authorities, including the Village Chief, we are told that they are waiting for the necessary funds to improve the road,” he said.
He was at a loss to understand why these agencies were dragging their feet.
Amos said the village comprised more than 20 households, all of which depended on the stretch to reach Donggongon town.
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