SUBANG JAYA, July 20: Plans to build an elevated road, connecting a proposed development site in Sunway Lagoon Selatan to Persiaran Kewajipan, a major road that serves the residential and commercial areas of Subang Jaya and USJ, will not benefit the residents living in these areas, says the head of a residents group here.
It will be a traffic nightmare not only for SS14 residents but others living in the surrounding areas such as SS12, USJ and further impact the highly congested exit and entry points of Kesas Highway, said Woo Yuen Seng, lead coordinator of the Concerned and Affected REsidents Group (CAREs).
Apart from posing a risk to the structural integrity of houses in the affected vicinity, the construction works, if approved, will also worsen noise and air pollution in the area and raise other environmental issues that will leave a long-term impact on the health and well-being of residents in the vicinity, he said.
The proposed Jalan Lagoon Selatan-Subang Kelana Link/Persiaran Kewajipan Elevated Road project
was first presented by representatives of Sunway Group to Subang Jaya SS14 residents on 19th May 2023, in the presence of Subang Jaya assemblywoman Michelle Ng (Adun), a Majlis Bandaraya Subang Jaya (MBSJ) councillor and representatives from the council’s engineering department, said Woo.
It was put on hold following concerns raised by some residents. A second meeting was held in October 2023 and there were no details since then. In 2024, the plan resurfaced.
“In April 2024, we were informed that Sunway had submitted a ‘Preliminary Proposal’ for the project to MBSJ. The request to involve representatives of Subang Jaya SS14 residents in the review of this proposal was rejected by the MBSJ.
“In November 2024, we were informed that the developer had presented a plan to MBSJ on 14 Oct 2024 ‘with some improvements’ and once done, will be presented to MBSJ for approval and then for public presentation.
“Our concerns are that if the plans are approved under a ‘Kebenaran Merancang’ (or Development Order) no changes will be allowed after. Meanwhile, residents were not engaged before the plan submission.
“We also raised the matter with Subang Member of Parliament Wong Chen, who helped us get a townhall session, where the MBSJ’s Engineering Department presented the flyover’s draft proposal.
“While the flyover will provide a traffic outlet for the proposed development project in Sunway, it will not in any way benefit the SS14 area and will instead bring damages to an already traffic congested area.
“For years, the people had to live in a polluted area and traffic congestion as roads were expanded, repaired, diverted in the Subang Jaya area to build the Kesas Highway. It did not end there as more connectig roads and flyovers were built and trees were removed, further raising pollution. This is supposed to be a matured township now.”
Persiaran Kewajipan, where the flyover will join, was built to cater for 4,000 cars per hour, but the
volume has now grown to 12,000 cars per hour. Persiaran Kewajipan is already strained with existing traffic load and it should not be burdened further by dispersing more traffic from Jalan Lagoon Selatan, said Woo.
Apart from the noise pollution, dust, debris, that the people have to live with again for the period of construction of close to three years, the impact on traffic in the area will be huge.
“The road project is situated in an unsuitable location facing Jalan SS14/2 and Persiaran Kewajipan road. Due to the limited road reserve land space of between 6 to 10 ft available along the affected stretch, it will cause a lot of obstructions if a new lane or flyover piers are to be built along the narrow location.
“The existing Persiaran Kewajipan road has been maximized with only two lanes and it is expected that one lane will be closed during the construction period of 2.5 years. The expected construction works for the flyover pillars will impact the area where the present exit/entry to/from Persiaran Kewajipan is located. It is already heavily congested and will further worsen traffic with vehicles from within Subang Jaya and SS14 entering and exiting from these points, especially during rush hours. Dispersing more traffic from Jalan Lagoon Selatan to the road will worsen traffic.”
There will also be a spillover impact to traffic all the way from Subang Jaya SS14 to USJ, down the Kesas ramp for traffic coming from Klang and adding more congestion to the NPE ramp and NKVE.
Woo also claimed that no Road Safety Audit (RSA) information was provided and that there had been no independent Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA), Social Impact Analysis (SIA) and Environmental Impact Analysia (EIA) provided on the potential traffic impact of the plan.
With the flyover, an existing Bus Stop near Jalan SS14/4B that is mainly used by the B40 group and schoolchildren from 3 schools in SS14 will also be impacted. Its removal or relocation will be a burden to the users.
He also said other options should have been considered for the traffic dispersal and that the proposed elevated road project is a poor example of long term traffic planning that is not holistic in nature for a residential area well known for its massive traffic congestion. There is also an ongoing property development project in the area, which is expected to increase the traffic volume.
There is also a need for the project to be in compliant with the aspirations of the Subang Jaya Strategic Plan 2020-2025, Core Value 3 – Sustainable Development; Strategy 4 – Development of smart and
environmentally friendly transportation systems, Woo said.
All considerations must be taken before this project is approved and the views of the residents who pay their assessment fees and taxes must be taken more seriously.
— WE