KOTA KINABALU – Sepanggar MP Datuk Azis Jamman wants the authorities to reveal if a traffic impact assessment (TIA) was done for the upgrading project of the Sepanggar road, which has been hit by massive traffic jams, forcing people to travel to work as early as 5am.
He said that the situation is worse during the Ramadan month as fasting time starts at around 4.47am, forcing Muslim road users to rush their morning prayers in order to make it to work in the Kota Kinabalu city area on time.
“In the evening, there are people who have to break fast in their vehicles because they cannot make it home on time. Imagine the hardship and emotional tension that the people are facing.
“This not only affects the people’s emotions, but their health too,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Azis, who is also Warisan youth chief, said he acknowledges that the ongoing RM420 million upgrading project of the Sepanggar road, which will expand the road to four lanes, will provide comfort to road users, but the poor traffic management has caused extraordinary traffic jams that need to be addressed.
“If they have conducted the assessment, was it checked and verified by the federal Works Ministry as the project owner, or by Sabah’s Public Works Department as the superintending officer to the state government in this project?
“Can the TIA report be shared with the people, like what is practised in other states?” he questioned, adding that the TIA is necessary and a basic method of controlling the planning and implementation of a road development project.
Azis also urged the government to appoint a traffic management officer to supply information about traffic management of a certain project to the people from time to time.
Azis said that the problem also affects the road to the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital, as people around the area need to endure a massive traffic jam before taking a U-turn 5km away to reach the hospital.
“VIPs or ministers with police riders may not experience this situation. But imagine the difficulty and stress that the people are feeling!” he said, stressing that it also involves the lives of people who need to be rushed to the hospital.
He added that there were desperate drivers who decided to take the emergency lane but ended up being fined, while some people had suffered losses when they missed their flights because of traffic jams. – The Vibes, April 22, 2022
