Third route badly needed

THESE days, the traffic jam especially around the city centre has been horrendous mainly due to the construction of the Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link between Johor Baru and Singapore.

During peak hours, especially after office hours, many motorists are stuck in carparks up to an hour due to construction works along Jalan Tun Abdul Razak.

This main road is being used by tens of thousands of people daily as it is also the ideal pick-up and drop-off point for those heading to Singapore via the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex.

An alternative route is Jalan Jim Quee, but this road is also congested due to the construction of the RTS project.

Do people need to endure massive jams around the city area until the RTS is completed in two years’ time?

StarMetro has been highlighting about the need to have a short cut near the old Lion Hotel (now known as Hako Hotel) along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, which would serve as a route for pedestrians to reach the CIQ complex on foot and cut travel time.

This access was previously used by pedestrians daily before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Later, access to this area was stopped.

Now, CIQ auxiliary policemen are stationed there 24 hours to turn away people who try to use the “shortcut”, especially during traffic jams, at the two other routes.

An overhead pedestrian walkway like this from Jalan Lingkaran Dalam to Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, CIQ complex in Johor Baru will help reduce traffic congestion. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

The short-cut proposal also got the attention of the Johor government.

Johor works, transportation and infrastructure committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh visited the site earlier this month, along with Johor Public Transport Corporation (PAJ) chief executive officer Abdul Malik Ismail and its chief operating officer Fadzil Abdul Hamid.

Also present were senior officers from the Home Ministry, Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), Immigration Department and police.

Kudos to Mohamad Fazli and his team for taking the initiative to organise the site tour to see first-hand the shortcut proposal.

Among the issues raised by civil servants during the tour are the safety of those walking as vehicles such as buses also use the same access, the road becoming narrow if a special lane is allotted for pedestrians, and the fact that this was a restricted area with signboards put up to warn people not to walk there.

To cut a long story short, MBJB and PAJ have been tasked to come up with a plan to open up access to pedestrians.

Mohamad Fazli also welcomes feedback from the public about this proposal via Facebook.

I had used this shortcut in the past, before the Covid-19 pandemic, to head to Singapore for work, as this was the shortest and fastest route to the Malaysian Immigration autogates.

Because of the closure of this access, people including pregnant women, are forced to walk up to 1.5km around the CIQ complex to use the access via Jalan Jim Quee.

Why can’t the authorities come up with practical solutions similar to the recent idea by Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar to open up an access route to the Eastern Dispersal Link?

This “shortcut” for vehicles has immediately reduced traffic congestion along Istana Pasir Pelangi.

I agree that safety is paramount for this access to be opened up as there have been one or two minor mishaps in the past.

What is stopping the authorities from carrying out improvements to enable use of this alternate access for public convenience?

Why can’t the state government look at constructing a covered overhead pedestrian walkway similar to the link between R&F Mall to the CIQ?

When I mooted this idea to Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi during a recent interview, he was receptive to the proposal.

Other measures include assigning more traffic police, auxiliary police and Rela personnel to man this access 24 hours.

If an overhead walkway is too costly, why not put up barriers or a fence to separate pedestrians from other motorised vehicles?

The authorities can also put up more warning lights or build a bus stop that people can use as a pick-up or drop-off point.

I am sure once this third access is made available to pedestrians, many will opt for this alternative route as nobody would want to enter the city area and get caught in traffic jams that are getting from bad to worse.

The time has come for the authorities to act and open up this access soon for the benefit of the rakyat.