Mixed response to one-way traffic system

GEORGE TOWN (Aug 11, 2013): The newly implemented one-way traffic system on Jalan Burma, Jalan Kelawei, Jalan Bagan and Persiaran Gurney is eliciting a mixed response from the public two weeks after it was implemented on July 27.

Retiree Liew Pow Ngeok, 71, described it as a nightmare. "This system is converging traffic on certain roads. I was stuck for almost an hour on the way to Tanjung Bungah," she said.

Taxi driver S. Ravi, 50, said the new traffic direction on Jalan Kelawei and Jalan Burma should be the opposite, adding that the jam at Persiaran Gurney is bad because most motorists use that road to enter George Town since they cannot turn into Jalan Kelawei now.

Leaving work at 6pm is now a problem for Wang Shuai, a 24-year-old part-time worker at Gurney Plaza.

However, the new system got the thumbs-up from a couple, Andrew Whitehead, 40, and Fiona Xavier, 43, who found it more convenient to cross Jalan Burma. "The traffic at Jalan Burma is so smooth now," Fiona noted.

However, Pulau Tikus assemblyman Yap Suey Hui said the worsening traffic is due to the Raya season ending in the second week of the implementation of the new system.

"During the first week, the condition improved but come the second week, the traffic worsened due to abnormal situations like the increase of vehicles on the road and also the Raya season," Yap said.

She also said a petition has been submitted to the state government by businesses along Jalan Burma who are concerned about the impact of the new road system.

Yap added that some people did not understand how the system works, thus adding to the traffic jam. "We will continue to monitor the one-way system daily," she said.

State Local Government and Traffic Mitigation committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow could not be reached for comment.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/08/12/mixed-response-to-one-way-traffic-system/