A city with the most tolled roads

IT’S déjà vu for Petaling Jaya residents.

The sporadic banners around PJ protesting against a proposed new elevated highway called the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) harkens back to 10 years ago when similar banners were seen objecting to Kidex, another mega highway.

The PJD Link appears to be an iteration of Kidex or its full name Kinrara-Damansara Expressway, a project which was ultimately cancelled in 2015.

Which begs the question, does PJ need another tolled highway?

There is no doubt that traffic in the most populous city in Selangor has clogged up its main arteries. The one-way loop introduced in the city’s CBD area a while ago had alleviated jams at entry and exit points along the Federal Highway but has not had the same positive impact on other stretches.

The proponents of PJD Link say that the new highway will help disperse traffic away from these congested roads. However, the same argument was used when Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) was created more than 20 years ago.

Initially offering a smooth ride from Kepong to Puchong, the LDP is now notorious for its traffic snarls. Subsequent uncontrolled development on both sides of the highway means that commuters are paying toll to be stuck in one big parking lot.

The 25.4km PJD Link will connect to five major railway lines, namely LRT3, MRT1, LRT Kelana Jaya, KTM Komuter and LRT Sri Petaling.

It is also expected to ease traffic on the LDP, NPE, Federal Highway, Kesas and Bukit Jalil Highway.

Critics of the new development, however, say that the actual congestion spots have not been properly studied. They say the PJD Link could go the same way as the LDP – another tolled (in this case five tolls) highway that has very little impact on traffic dispersal.

Maybe it’s time for us to relook the number of roads that are feverishly being built or, worse, being planned for.

The Dash (Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Highway) was open to the public late last year despite vehement protests from Damansara Perdana residents. And already road users are complaining of congestion on various entry and exit points of the RM11bil highway.

The recent corporate restructuring driven by Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd (ALR) to acquire four highway concessionaires is a clear reflection of how companies are unable to maintain these multibillion ringgit infrastructure.

The takeover of the four highways – Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas), Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal Scheme (Sprint), LDP and Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) – means that the government will reportedly save some RM4.3bil in toll subsidies or compensation by extending the highway concessions.

Klang Valley commuters will not now be burdened by toll hikes on these roads, but they will be paying toll for a longer period.

Based on the ALR takeover, clearly, it is no secret that a highway asset will need to be flipped at some point but more importantly the public will be left with another white elephant.

Based on the projected traffic volume and the expected cost of financing, any kind of profit to be realised will likely be far in the future. Given that the volume of vehicles will not reach the desired target, why even build this highway?“How this highway is going to cut through an old residential area is a disaster in the making,” a Jalan Gasing resident opined.

“Why do we need another highway? We need better public transportation. It doesn’t make sense to pay toll when we’re doing it now anyway,” Madam Wong said, adding that Petaling Jaya will have the unwanted moniker of a city with the most tolled roads.

Earlier this month, in Parliament, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi disclosed that the PJD Link was approved in principle by the Cabinet on Nov 12, 2017 and by the Selangor government on Sept 3, 2020.

He said the concessionaire was in the midst of fulfilling the conditions set out in the concession agreement.

“The concessionaire is actively carrying out the environment impact assessment (EIA), traffic impact assessment (TIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) without any physical activity at the site,” he added.

Unfortunately, Malaysians will not be privy to details of the concession agreement, because according to the minister, it is “classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972”.

The findings from the impact assessments are supposed to be submitted by next Wednesday with Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari having been quoted as saying that the state government would reject any future highway development project if it does not benefit the people.

For now though, the objection banners remain and the physical street protests continue with the latest taking place in Kinrara tomorrow.