Project driving ’em round the bend

MOTORISTS are fuming mad that a 50m-long divider is being built on Lebuh Tenggiri 2 in Pusat Bandar Seberang Jaya (Bandar Sunway) in Penang which they claim has highly inconvenienced them.

Company director Abdul Rahim Darus, 60, said he had to now take a big circle around Sunway Carnival Mall, pass Jalan Todak 4 and slip into a service road in front of Victoria Station Restaurant to get to his office in Jalan Todak 5.

“Previously, when I drive from the Seberang Jaya market in Jalan Tenggiri, I could easily turn right into Jalan Todak 2 from Lebuh Tenggiri 2.

“The authorities concerned should just revert to the old traffic system in this area,” he said.

Local resident R. Rajendran, 42, said he now had to take the Jalan Todak-Lebuh Tenggiri 2 traffic lights junction to take a left turn into Jalan Todak 2.

“I am now finding it hard to access the banks, telco company offices and other shops in Pusat Bandar Seberang Jaya,” he said.

Roxbury Pub and Bistro Sdn Bhd operator Jeffrey Ooi, 39, said he was initially glad to see Lebuh Tenggiri 2 being widened as the stretch was often congested throughout the day.

“I was shocked to later see the workers construct a divider there which caused the road to become even narrower now,” he said.

Carnation Photo Lab owner Thong Chee Hong, 42, said he was worried about further traffic congestion in the area, especially in Jalan Todak 4 where a new row of shophouses would open soon.

Restaurant operator Abdul Malik Hassan, 66, said apart from numerous commercial units and several places of worship, Pusat Bandar Seberang Jaya also housed the Seberang Jaya clinic, Penang State Library, Seberang Prai TNB office, state EPF building and Seberang Jaya Customs Complex.

“There must be a proper traffic system in place, otherwise we may end up in a chaotic situation when more new buildings open here,” he said.

Seberang Prai Municipal Council engineering director Kamaruddin Che Lah said the Sunway Group, which developed Pusat Bandar Seberang Jaya, had earlier applied to the council and Public Works Department to widen the particular road stretch and construct a divider.

“But since there is public out- cry over the move, we will ask Sunway Group’s traffic consultants to meet us in the next few days to re-look at the plans for a possible solution,” he said.

He said the road widening and construction of the divider, which began in March, was undertaken by the Sunway Group.