Residents listening to some of the ideas presented at a townhall session held at Brickfields Asia College in Petaling Jaya. - Photos: YAP CHEE HONG/The Star
FOUR traffic dispersal ideas have been proposed to the authorities to replace an elevated highway planned between Damansara and Kinrara in Selangor.
Stakeholders cum Residents Against PJD Link (ScRAP) spokesperson David Yoong suggested that if an elevated highway must be built, the authorities should plan for one that went around Petaling Jaya city.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Petaling Jaya organised by resident groups, he said the outer ring road concept was practised in many countries and could be applied in this instance.
“Another option is to build an elevated highway over the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) that exits at Jalan Lapangan Terbang Subang and from the Federal Highway to Taman Medan.
“The third option is to build a short span flyover at the current intersections on Jalan Templer to replace traffic lights or the roundabouts.”
Yoong said the third option would mean uninterrupted traffic flow to Jalan Kelang Lama.
“The fourth option is to build another flyover from Jalan Penchala to Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas).
“This will open up another route to link Petaling Jaya’s northern and southern areas at a fraction of the cost for the authorities and cutting travel time for motorists,” he added.
Last year Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung had spoken about the Cabinet allowing the proposal of a new alignment for the PJD Link project.
A Petaling Jaya resident viewing some of the alternative ideas presented at a townhall session.
Yoong said ScRAP hoped to file a court injunction against the Selangor government to stop it from proceeding.
Two other groups namely Persatuan Petaling Jaya Lestari and Petaling Jaya Sejahtera have also repeatedly voiced their objections to the project.
VKK Rajasekaran from Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) said residents’ quality of life must not be sacrificed with the building of another highway.
He urged Petaling Jaya residents to share information on the proposed highway with their neighbours as many were still unaware of the impact it would have on their lives.
Former Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah called for a definite decision to be made by the authorities on PJD Link.
“The residents of Petaling Jaya are against it.
“Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said no to the project in July 2023, stating that it did not meet the conditions set.”
Yoong says an outer ring road concept is practised in many countries and can be applied here.She said in April 2024, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil announced that the project had been discontinued as its developer failed to meet six out of 11 conditions set by the government.
She added that alternatives to the project must be proposed.
“I prefer a proposal for a better public transport system to cover first and last mile connectivity,” said Maria.
Subang MP Wong Chen said the public could urge the government to carry out an independent traffic impact assessment (TIA) for the highway project.
He said the TIA was the most important factor for project approval and the cost should be borne by the government.
At the town hall meeting, Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development Association (KLRA+SD) spokesperson Sam Lau also said he supported the call for no highway and wanted the focus to shift to public transport.
Earlier this month, StarMetro reported that residents affected by PJD Link were seeking a meeting with Amirudin to get clarity on the project.
“We want a meeting with Selangor Mentri Besar as we have been left in the dark since learning late last year that the project has been revived,” said Yoong.
