PUTRAJAYA: Three contra-flow traffic lanes will be activated on roads in Kuala Lumpur beginning July 3 to ease peak-hour traffic congestion.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the contra-flow lanes would be carried out from the Sungai Besi toll plaza to the Besraya Interchange; Jalan Maharajalela to Taman Connaught; and from Ampang Point to Jalan Tun Razak.
“The routes from the Sungai Besi toll plaza to the Besraya Interchange (2.4km) and along Jalan Maharajalela to Taman Connaught (4km) will be opened to public vehicles, except motorbikes,” he told a press conference after a traffic congestion technical committee meeting yesterday.
A contra-flow lane will also be created along the route from Ampang Point to Jalan Tun Razak, he added.
“This 3km route, however, will only be accessible to public transport buses. Private vehicles that use this route can face action,” he said.
Loke said the contra-flow lanes – which will be activated from 6am to 9am and from 5pm to 7pm – will open on July 3 so as to allow stakeholders sufficient time to prepare.
“Guidelines will be drawn up by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) to ensure these measures can be carried out efficiently.
“Other measures will continue to be studied collectively before implementation,” he said.
He added that these measures were taken as it did not involve any structural changes
“Only cones will be needed to create the new lane.
“A collective guideline by Miros can also present a reduced risk of accidents at these lanes,” he said.
Loke said the contra-flows would merely help reduce congestion in the interim instead of being a definite fix, adding that only drastic policy measures could do this.
“However, we haven’t reached that point yet. We can only mitigate congestion for now,” he said.
He added that there was an average of six million cars moving within Kuala Lumpur’s borders daily, based on data from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“During peak hours from 6am to 9am alone, 2.2 million cars travel here and this is the reality that we have to face,” he said.
Loke said from the targeted 40% use of public transport, only 15% was achieved.
“A few years back, we hoped to reach at least 20% for public transport use, but we have yet to reach this,” he said.
To enhance road safety in the new lanes, Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua, head of the Road Safety Research Centre of Universiti Putra Malaysia, said it was important to keep the public informed well ahead of time.
“Users need to be aware so they don’t engage in risky behaviour when using these routes at said times.
“The contra-flow lanes act as a measure to ease congestion while also buying time to further improve public transport use,” said Law, who attended the meeting. Law, whose team developed the Automatic Traffic Incident Detection System currently used to monitor traffic data in Kuala Lumpur, said concrete data on lane usage could only be seen one month after its implementation.
“It can also assess the situation, showing whether the intervention measures to reduce congestion are effective,” he said.
Meanwhile, Loke said DBKL has also been advised to be stricter in approving applications from contractors to extend temporary road closures for whatever purpose, including construction.
“If they can’t complete their projects in time, they have to bear the costs themselves,” he said.