Temporary tents set up on the road for CNY sales have reduced the parking space in SS2. — ART CHEN/The Star
PARKING in the busy SS2 commercial area in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, has always been a challenge, but residents are complaining that finding a spot has become almost impossible during this Chinese New Year (CNY) season.
The culprits, they claim, are the businesses and lorries that hogged the already limited parking bays to carry out CNY sales.
Motorist June Chen, 50, said she had to drive around in circles looking for parking spots in the commercial area and even got caught in a 40-minute traffic jam on Saturday night.
“There is too little parking space left as many bays are occupied by businesses setting up tents to sell their items and also lorries and trucks.
“This should not be allowed. The parking bays should strictly be for visitors,” she said.
Another visitor LY Chun, 43, said lorries should not be allowed to take up parking bays in the business area for lengthy periods.
“I see some are doing business directly from the lorry. The authorities should not allow this. The lorries take away parking bays and cause traffic congestion.
“In fact, the lorries stay at the same spot every day and the authorities should not ignore this.
“We cannot be driving around for an hour looking for parking here. I am even thinking of not coming here anymore because time is precious,” she said.
Mother-of-two Stella J was caught in a bad jam in SS2 last Sunday and ended up having to change her dinner plans.
“My children were looking forward to having noodles at a pan mee restaurant. However, it took us about an hour to secure a parking spot.
“When we finally got to the restaurant, the staff had stopped taking orders. We had to dine elsewhere and were disappointed.
”We would not have gone if we had known about the bad congestion and lack of parking bays,” she said.
Another frequent visitor to the area, Lim TY, said the morning market in addition to the CNY sales had worsened the traffic and parking situation.
“We need round-the-clock enforcement so that things are under control,” added Lim.
On Tuesday morning, Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Azhan Md Amir, accompanied by Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei, distributed mandarin oranges to the visitors and traders in SS2.
Lim told StarMetro she too had received public complaints and conveyed the matter to Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ).
Mohamad Azhan said MBPJ was aware of the problem.
He said some shops had temporary permits and were allowed to sell right outside their premises during this festive season.
“We have so far issued summonses to one person for doing business at the parking bay without a permit,” he said.
He added that lorries, except for licensed food trucks, were not permitted to park at the bays to conduct trading.
“However, we will increase enforcement activities.
“I will instruct my officers to arrange for an enforcement officer to be on site so that we can monitor the situation,” he added.
