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THE Public Works Department (PWD) plans to have more signs put up on the main road between the Lintas Jaya Township and RTM headquarters in Kepayan to indicate where the U-turns are located, while the Penampang Municipal Council is working to restore the public lighting on the stretch.

Both agencies hope in this way to improve the driving experience, not to mention safety, of the many vehicle owners who ply up and down Jalan Lintas after dark.

City Hall, on the other hand, is monitoring the traffic flow on Lorong Zirafah and Lorong Mawas in a bid to minimise the frustrations which some Luyang motorists have experienced in accessing homes in Taman Layang-Layang and shops in the Foh Sang area.

Senior staff with City Hall’s Traffic and Transport Department taking stock of potential locations in which to build the road humps on Lorong Zirafah.

A Kepayan driver and two other Luyang road-users contacted Hotline about the traffic irregularities on these different stretches. 

Their grievances were forwarded to the Department, Council and City Hall.

A PWD spokesman said a team from its Traffic Section went to Jalan Lintas, shortly after being contacted by the media.

“Our personnel kept tabs on the movement of vehicles at the U-turns during this site visit,” he said.

“They also took note of the location of the related signs on the road. 

“We gather from their observations, that the signage was insufficient and needed to be increased in order to make the public more aware of where the U-turns were.”

He said its Kota Kinabalu branch was apprised of these findings.

“We have recommended that more signs be put up and that the new ones be luminescent so that drivers can easily make them out at night.”

Where the public lighting was concerned, the Council admitted that a 716 metre span of the road between Lintas Jaya and RTM was not illuminated at night

He said the actions of an irresponsible motorist were to blame for this situation.

“The driver ran into three of our streetlights, causing them to topple over,” he said.

He said the damage had an unfortunate impact on the system servicing the rest of the lights in this part of Jalan Lintas.

The spokesman said the agency had lodged a police report about the damaged amenities.

“Our efforts to try and identify the culprit have so far proven unsuccessful.” 

The spokesman said the Council was in the midst of calling for a quotation to replace the affected lights.

City Hall personnel checking on the condition of Lorong Mawas.

Meanwhile, City Hall is weighing up the possibility of having additional road humps constructed on Lorong Zirafah particularly near the junction to Lorong Zirafah 9 in the Taman Layang-Layang area.

A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Traffic and Transport Department said it hoped to put at least two humps in place, when funds permitted. 

“There are two playschools operating off Lorong Zirafah 9,” she said.

“Some parents, who send their kids to these premises, appealed to us to have humps built. 

“They had noticed that some drivers were in the habit of speeding down the housing roads here and were concerned for the safety of their youngsters, especially if these little ones were with them while they crossed the road to reach the playschools.”

She said senior staff with the Department, subsequently, conducted an inspection of Lorong Zirafah.

“They observed the flow of traffic on this road, as well as the one on which the playschools were based. 

“Our personnel, later, earmarked potential locations where the humps could be constructed.”

The spokeswoman said a similar check was earlier made of Lorong Mawas, especially those sections of the road around the multistorey car-park coming up near the Foh Sang shops.

“This was done after we received word about the congestion which formed on the stretch, as well as the cracks and depressions in the asphalt,” she said.

“We informed the relevant parties about our observations, as well as the feedback from the public.

“This is the most that we can do as the construction project is not directly under us.”