Holiday clamour: The railway station in Butterworth almost bursting at the seams as holidaymakers and the balik kampung crowd pack the station for the year-end holidays. — LO TERN CHERN/The Star
BUTTERWORTH: It is not just roads – even the railway station and the ferry terminal are clogged with thousands of people.
With the peak holiday season during Christmas and New Year, traffic and the flow of people have become heavier.
Trains bringing people to Penang were packed to capacity and the railway station, connecting roads and the ferries to the island were jammed with commuters on foot.
On traffic navigation apps, the narrow seaside route leading to Batu Feringghi and Teluk Bahang have been coloured red at peak hours since the beginning of the school holidays last week.
Teluk Bahang resident Azmer Zulkafli, 34, said residents were hoping the government could expedite the construction of the North Coastal Paired Road, stressing that the existing road infrastructure was outdated and could no longer cope with the traffic volume.
“Our road to George Town dates back to the colonial era. It is too narrow and cannot handle the weekend and holiday traffic,” he said, adding that his neighbours and he had decided to simply remain in Teluk Bahang during the holidays.
In other places in the state, vehicles bearing out-of-state number plates are seen all over the island, creating traffic bottlenecks here and there.
A check by The Star showed clogged roads across the city while long lines of people queued outside popular food joints and attractions.
On Wednesday, state police chief Datuk Comm Azizee Ismail said 2.2 million vehicles are expected to enter Penang from today for Christmas and year-end school holidays,
He said the figure was based on trends recorded during previous major festive seasons, as well as Pesta Pulau Pinang, which began on Dec 6 and ends on Jan 10.
Comm Azizee said congestion on several routes is expected, particularly at the entrances of both the bridges to Penang island, with traffic expected to surge.
He said the same situation was expected at the Juru and Sungai Dua exits along the North-South Expressway, while George Town areas like Jalan Air Itam and Jalan Green Lane, the main routes to Batu Ferringhi, would see heavy traffic.
“We have deployed more personnel at strategic hot spots and black spots,” he added.
In another development, residents and traders in Pulau Tikus were up in arms after Penang Island City Council (MBPP) built road railings to block motorists from stopping on the double-yellow line to buy things or get services from the shops.
This 140m stretch with about 50 shop houses boasts generations-old char koay teow, wantan mee and many other award-winning hawkers, on top of olden day coffee shops fixing flavourful, famed drinks like “hor kar sai” (tiger bites lion).
But it is a connecting road between Batu Ferringhi, Tanjung Bungah and George Town.
Motorists stopping on the double-yellow line to patronise the shops even for a few minutes led to congestion over 1km behind them.
Motorcycle repair shop owner Lee Jit Eng, 72, said the move severely affected his livelihood.
“Many of my customers are elderly or come on short visits.
“With the railings, they cannot stop even briefly,” he said.
Resident Chew Kah Whye, 52, said traders and resident hoped the council could make gaps between the railings for motorists to stop and reach the shops.
But Pulau Tikus assemblyman Joshua Woo defended the city council’s move, which was done to keep traffic flowing while dedicated loading bays were prepared in the back road for lorries to deliver goods to the shops.
He said MBPP created 23 more public car park lots and a privately operated car park was being planned in the area.
