LETTER | Sg Buloh constituents need solution to traffic issues

LETTER | There is no doubt that the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat has become the hottest topic and the most controversial and polemical in GE15 for various reasons.

There are seven contestants vying for the coveted constituency. Election time is a good opportunity for the Sungai Buloh constituents to bring up issues they feel merit attention and action from those vying for the seat, which has more than 100,000 voters.

Over the years Sungai Buloh has been transformed from a rural/semi-urban area to a mostly urban constituency due to the influx of residents into Kota Damansara, Damansara Damai and other housing schemes.

Due to the high-density residential development, some major problems have surfaced. The most serious is the congestion on the main roads due to bottlenecks that the authorities have ignored for years.

The Dash highway, connecting the Penchala interchange and Puncak Perdana, was recently opened and it is expected to reduce congestion in some areas in Kota Damansara and Subang. However, the existing bottlenecks and congestion in Jalan Sungai Buloh and Jalan Subang are going to continue unless appropriate action is taken.

One of the major traffic jams occurs at the traffic light junction opposite the upscale Sierramas housing enclave near the Sungai Buloh toll plaza. One immediately lands in heavy traffic congestion as soon as the toll has been paid. This traffic quagmire is the result of the narrow bridge built by Plus when constructing the NSE.

Although many of the bridges along the NSE were widened more than a decade back through a bridge widening programme to cope with the heavier traffic, this bridge close to the boundary of Plus's jurisdiction limit was left untouched.

Due to this, vehicles, especially the heavy ones, have to negotiate the sharp turn slowly towards the direction of Damansara Damai/Kepong. The slow pace of movement of heavy vehicles results in massive traffic jams. The main problem here is the narrowness of the bridge despite having two lanes. The congestion also blocks vehicles heading towards Jalan Sungai Buloh after exiting the toll plaza.

Plus has been aware of these problems for years but no action has been taken. Either Plus or the Works Ministry has to fund the widening of the bridge.

Another bottleneck occurs due to the narrow Jalan Welfare in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh. This road, leading to a large residential and industrial area, is the only access road after the Jalan Baru-Jalan Subang junction was closed. This junction was closed when the road was widened about 15 years back and the closure was done without any foresight of the serious problems it would create.

The best solution will be to build a flyover above the Jalan Baru junction and re-open the blocked junction to provide additional access to Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh.

Jalan Sungai Buloh- Subang will have to be widened/upgraded any time now in view of the massive development of Kwasa Damansara. To this end, the horticultural nurseries along this road have been ordered to vacate before the end of the year.

Another issue I would like to highlight is the two abandoned building blocks - about 10 storeys high - that are an eyesore in the centre of Sungai Buloh. These buildings, between the MRT station and the Tamil school, have been left uncompleted for more than two decades.

In fact, a large number of the original allottees (squatters evicted from nearby areas) of the low-cost apartments have passed away and many of the remaining have been declared bankrupt by the banks for non-payment of the housing loans. The problems surrounding this issue are serious and complicated and need the assistance of a sympathetic MP to resolve it as it concerns the Housing and Local Government Ministry and other federal government departments.

The Sungai Buloh Hospital car park needs to be expanded due to a large number of patients and visitors frequenting the hospital. There is ample vacant land along Jalan Hospital and near the present parking area.

A small bus or van could be used to ferry people who have parked their cars some distance away and bring them to the entrance of the hospital. A hospital bus service could be initiated for patients from Kota Damansara, Damansara Damai and other nearby areas for the B40 group, who now have to pay about RM 50.00 for the two-way trip although patients pay only a ringgit for registration and treatment.

The B40 will be extremely grateful for this kind gesture. Jalan Hospital needs to be spruced up, landscaped and upgraded to make it look better as it leads to the nation's ultra-modern medical facility. Additionally, a senior citizens' wing can be initiated by the Sungai Buloh hospital dedicated to ailments and medical problems of this group, who even have a hard time finding a vacant parking bay let alone the long wait for diagnosis and treatment.

It is hoped that the winning candidate will be able to know the needs of the constituents and help them overcome their issues and concerns.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.