Traffic congestion plans bear fruit

Congestion along Jalan Sungai Long at the Sungai Long commercial zone intersection. — Filepic

A MULTI-AGENCY effort is underway to ease traffic congestion in Bandar Sungai Long in Kajang, Selangor, with short-term plans already in place to improve traffic flow.

Kajang assemblyman David Cheong said the misalignment of traffic light timings along Jalan Sungai Long had been addressed with Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) and Prolintas agreeing to adjust signal timings at two intersections.

In a StarMetro report on Aug 25 last year, residents had called on the authorities to address the congestion along the 3km stretch that served numerous housing estates, two schools and a university with about 3,000 students.

“The timing has been adjusted (on Feb 2) to allow for more traffic to exit the township, while reducing the incoming traffic,” Cheong said during a site visit with representatives from the Malaysian Highway Authority, Kajang District Police, MPKj and Prolintas.

“Traffic lights affecting the flow of vehicles exiting the township will be increased from 90 seconds to 120 seconds, such as the Taman Rakan and intersection where traffic from SILK Highway joins Jalan Sungai Long.

“At the same slip road, signal time from the SILK Highway onto Jalan Sungai Long will be reduced from 90 seconds to 60 seconds,” he said, adding that the changes would be made immediately.

“Since Jan 1, traffic police have been helping to manage congestion along the road between 6.30am and 8am but residents are requesting for them to stay for a longer period,” Cheong said.

With action taken based on public feedback, he expects reduced congestion.

He said the authorities would continue to monitor the traffic flow along Jalan Sungai Long.

Cheong said authorities had planned for a long-term solution about three years ago but were delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The matter of building flyovers has been discussed previously and studies had also been carried out by MPKj.

“Now we are awaiting a decision from the Federal Government for the allocation of funds,” he said.

Two flyovers are being planned for the township, one at Bandar Mahkota Cheras and the other near the commercial zone in Bandar Sungai Long.

Persatuan Penduduk Bandar Sungai Long secretary Danny Lau said residents were happy to hear of the adjusted timing for the traffic lights.

“Residents typically take about 40 minutes to reach the Cheras-Kajang (Grand Saga) Expressway for what would be a five-minute drive without congestion.

“With the traffic police’s assistance, we’ve noticed a 10-minute reduction and we are happy that our feedback on the timing has also been heard.”

Lau, however, worry that future developments could negate the current traffic solution.