Penangites can’t wait for end to traffic jams

Fed up: Tamil Arasee (left) and Noor Yasmin Farahanim say the LRT would help cut their travelling time to work.

GEORGE TOWN: When motorists are stuck in their vehicles for hours due to traffic congestion on Penang roads, they can only wish for shorter routes to help them reach their destinations faster.

Major traffic jams on Penang roads are nothing new so the people eagerly await the completion of some major road projects and expressways, which are incorporated in the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional Penang Unity Manifesto 2023.

The completion of the Package Two of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project, which links Ayer Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, and the construction of the Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang Dual Carriageway are set to significantly alleviate traffic woes.

Tour company executive Stanley Chong, who travels to work from Paya Terubong to town daily, said it takes him almost an hour to reach his workplace.

“If the Ayer Itam Expressway is completed, it will be the best thing to happen,” said the 42-year-old father.

Chong finds it difficult to drop off his son at school in Ayer Itam during peak hours before rushing to his office, all by 8.30am.

“Many may complain that the construction of the expressway is bad for the environment, but it is something that is needed urgently if we want to solve the congestion on the main road of Ayer Itam,” he said.

For bank assistant branch manager S. Tamil Arasee, 48, the Light Rail Transport (LRT) should be built or roads widened as soon as possible.

She said she has had enough driving to work in Bayan Lepas every day.

“It’s a short distance, from Bukit Jambul to Bayan Lepas, but with the traffic congestion it takes almost 45 minutes to reach my bank,” she said.

“If the LRT is built, more will use it so there should be less traffic on the road. This will then help those travelling short distances to use the road with more ease.”

Noor Yasmin Farahanim Abdul Wahab, 36, said if the LRT is up, it will cut her travelling time to work from Bayan Lepas to George Town daily.

“It will help me save money and have less stress too,” she added.

She said the LRT should also be extended as soon as possible to enable seamless travel between the island and the mainland.

The Ayer Itam Expressway is expected to be the first project completed, followed by the RM100mil GBS By the Sea project on the island and the RM100mil Meditech City in Batu Kawan on the mainland.

The construction of LRT and the Penang Hill Cable Car project are expected to follow suit in 2025.

However, Pakatan-Barisan manifesto chief Zairil Khir Johari said priority projects and their timelines could only be determined after the new state government is formed.

“The Chief Minister will later appoint the relevant excos and their teams to see the projects through,” added Zairil, who headed the state infrastructure and transport committee in the last government.