PWD may hold dialogue over double-parking at QEH1
Published on: Wednesday, August 09, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The congestion is especially ‘torturous’ during the peak hours.
THE Public Works Department (PWD) plans to hold a dialogue with the relevant authorities about the traffic problems which have arisen because of the rampant double-parking taking place on Jalan Rumah Sakit, used to access Queen Elizabeth Hospital1 (QEH1).
A Department spokesman said it was aware of the congestion which formed on the road because of the many vehicles which encroached on the dual carriageway.
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“Traffic heading towards the roundabout near the Lands and Survey Department’s (LSD) headquarters got badly backed up because of a sky-master recently,” he said.
“The driver of the sky-master found it difficult to manoeuvre between the cars parked on either side of Jalan Rumah Sakit.
An ambulance (circled) is caught in the jam caused by the rampant double-parking on Jalan Rumah Sakit.
“We hope to sit down with the Health Department and Hospital’s administration to discuss possible strategies for improving the traffic situation.”
If need be, he said, the PWD might even consider having the problems on Jalan Rumah Sakit tabled at the “Jawatankuasa Tindakan Daerah (District Action Committee)” when the body next convenes.
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The spokesman was responding to a Kepayan driver’s misgivings that the congestion could begin endangering the lives of patients being rushed to QEH1.
LUCIOUS said there was a very real possibility of this happening as, in some instances, ambulances, on their way to the Hospital, had been caught in the queue of vehicles on Jalan Rumah Sakit.
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“Someone who was having a heart attack, or finding it difficult to breathe due to an asthma attack, could very well wind up in dire straits because their family or the ambulance staff were late in reaching QEH1’s Emergency and Trauma Department,” he said.
He hoped the local authorities would look into improving the traffic flow along the road before anything unpleasant occurred.
City Hall personnel in the midst of issuing a compound to an errant driver in this part of Sinsuran.
Lucious said the jam – between the roundabouts near the LSD building and the Hospital’s Multi-storey carpark – was especially “torturous” during the peak hours before the Hospital opened and closed for the day.
“Numerous complaints about the congestion have been lodged with the local authorities over the years but, so far, the problem still persists.”
He related his grievance to Hotline in writing. His letter was forwarded to the Public Works, Health, Road Transport and Police Departments, as well as City Hall.
Spokespeople for these agencies confirmed receipt of this document, saying that they would have to determine their respective jurisdiction in this matter before deciding how best to mitigate the traffic woes along the road.
Both Traffic Police and Road Transport Department Officers can have summons issued to errant vehicle-owners for violations under the Road Transport Act 1987.
A fine for as much as RM300 can be levied against these individuals for contravening the Act’s subsection on the “Provision of parking places and stands”.
However, in the worst case scenario, they can be penalised between RM1,000-RM5,000 per the Act’s subsection concerning “Obstruction by vehicle on road”.
Alternatively, the magistrate may choose to impose a jail-term of up to one year, or both, if offenders were charged in court.
The Act stipulates that “any driver of a motor vehicle [who] causes or permits such vehicle to remain at rest on any road in any such position or in such a condition or in such a circumstance as to be likely to cause… undue inconvenience to other users or to traffic… shall be guilty of an offence”.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Enforcement Department said a check of the agency’s records revealed that Jalan Rumah Sakit was not listed in its road register.
“Seeing as how the road is under the maintenance of the PWD, it is advisable to have the congestion problem handled by the responsible party which is the Police,” he said.
He said the agency’s officers had been cracking down on incidents of illegal parking around the City, particularly near a five-star hotel in the Sinsuran area – following feedback from an office-worker about the inconvenience caused to road-users there.
A total of 46 drivers were taken to task for encroaching on different sections of Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens, Jalan Dua Puluh, Jalan Datuk Chong Thian Vun and Lorong Gomantong 2 and Lorong Sinsuran between February and July, according to him.
“Seventeen of these compounds were issued last month, 16 in June and the rest were served between February and May,” he said.
He said City Hall personnel would be keeping an eye on the goings-on around Le Meridien to deter motorists from leaving their vehicles haphazardly on the roads around the building.
“They can be deemed to have parked illegally, if there is no demarcation painted on either side of the road surface occupied by their vehicles,” he said.
“This is regardless of whether their automobiles obstruct the flow of traffic in the area.
Under the agency’s Provision of Parking Places By-laws (Coupon Parking) 2014, those who leave their vehicles in undesignated parking spaces could be liable to a compound of up to RM500, according to him.
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.”
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