Selangor DAP lawmakers revealed the preliminary Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) today, saying it flies in the face of previous claims by the company's officials that the 14.9km expressway will reduce traffic jams by 20% to 35%.
Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said today according to the TIA, the highway would reduce congestion on 43 roads in PJ by only 3.05%, ten years after it has been completed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi.
When it is completed in 2018, the highway, which would cut through some of the densest parts of PJ, would only ease congestion by 5.84%.
Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said today according to the TIA, the highway would reduce congestion on 43 roads in PJ by only 3.05%, ten years after it has been completed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi.
When it is completed in 2018, the highway, which would cut through some of the densest parts of PJ, would only ease congestion by 5.84%.
Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin said today according to the TIA, the highway would reduce congestion on 43 roads in PJ by only 3.05%, ten years after it has been completed by a company owned by an Umno lawyer and the family of former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Faisal Salehhuddin, June 11, 2014.
Yeo said the report conflicted Kidex chief executive officer Datuk Mohamad Nor Idrus' own claims that the highway would bring down total congestion in the PJ area by 20-35%.
"The claim by the Kidex CEO is based on the reduction of congestion on certain roads in PJ. But total congestion overall reduction in PJ is only 3 to 5%" Yeo told reporters at her office in Damansara Utama today.
The report’s findings is expected to spark further questions about the highway's so-called benefits to residents in PJ who are being asked to put up with the pollution and congestion that comes with the highway's construction.
The federal government has given approval "in principle" to Kidex go ahead with the project which will see an elevated highway being built over houses, schools and businesses in PJ as the highway winds its way from Kinrara to Bandar Utama.
Opposition to the project has been stiff from residents who believe it will cause more traffic gridlock, pollute its surroundings and endanger school children.
The preliminary TIA which was made available to the press, showed traffic projections for two different periods – 2018, when the project is scheduled to be completed and 2028, 10 years after its been in place. The estimates were based on traffic along 43 roads in PJ, which includes the area's biggest and busiest.
In 2018, the report estimates that traffic on those 43 roads in PJ would total 1,545,553 passenger car unit (PCU) if Kidex was not built. If Kidex was built, total traffic would be 1,455,310 PCU.
In 2028, the report estimates that there will be 1,917,040 cars in PJ if Kidex was not built. While if the highway was operational, there would be 1,858,531 PCU.
Bukit Gasing assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran, whose constituents were being severely affected by the highway, said the report questions how effective the highway really is at cutting congestion.
"If the pain that everyone has go through because of its construction is so high and the benefit is so low, is it really worth going through with it?"
Other DAP lawmakers also criticised how the project was being implemented, saying that the secrecy surrounding its technical and financial aspects suggests that it was being rushed past public scrutiny.
Bukit Tunku assemblyperson Lau Weng San this could be seen in how the complete traffic, social and environmental impact reports had not been made public more than nine months after the project was approved.
“Either the reports have not been revealed or they have not finished the reports. If they haven’t finished the reports, then it looks like this project is being rushed.”
Lau also said it was unacceptable for the company to claim that documents concerning the highway have been put under the Official Secrets Act.
“There is nothing about this project that threatens national security. It should not be under the OSA.” – June 11, 2014.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
Reference Link: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/kidex-highway-will-only-cut-jams-by-3-to-5-say-dap-lawmakers#sthash.O3bQCOhf.dpuf
