GEORGE TOWN: One of the major arteries of the city has been marked with zigzag lines to alert motorists to slow down when approaching a pedestrian crossing.
In what is believed to be the first of its kind in Malaysia, the pilot project involved marking the zigzag lines along an almost 50m stretch of Burmah Road before a pedestrian crossing in front of the Malaysian Buddhist Association.
“Following two cases of pedestrian deaths here at Burmah Road in the last two years, we wanted to improve road safety for pedestrians, ” said Penang Work, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.
Awareness about road safety at pedestrian crossings was still lacking despite the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) having introduced various efforts like warning signs, repainting the speed table and pedestrian signs, he said.
“As such, we want to review and adapt to some of the best practices like this from countries with similar road systems such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, ” he told reporters.
Zairil said that the use of zigzag lines in other countries had proven successful in reducing the speed of incoming motorists and also increased awareness among motorists on pedestrian crossings.
“With this project, we will test and check the data, and observe if there is an impact on motorists’ behaviour.
“If it is good, we will bring this up with the Transport Ministry, and hopefully it can be used across the country, ” he said.
He said a prior meeting with the ministry had led to an agreement to have the pilot project in Penang.
The pilot project, he said, was conducted by the state along with the ministry and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).
In April 2017, a housewife who was heading to the Pulau Tikus wet market was knocked down by a motorcyclist who ran a red light at a pedestrian crossing in Burmah Road.
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