KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 — Kajang residents are now speaking out against two proposed MRT stations — fearing they will cause traffic bottlenecks and other difficulties in their south-east town.
This follows the uproar from suburban Taman Tun Dr Ismail residents at the northwest side of the controversial Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.
Among the complaints are an MRT station located over a busy junction on the town’s main road, Jalan Besar, and another opposite two schools.
Taxi driver Amir Suhadi bin Abdul Muiz said that the traffic at Jalan Besar, one-way road, flanked by shoplots where the Bandar Kajang station will be placed at, is the worst in Kajang.
“The KTM is causing all this jam. Imagine how it would be like when the MRT is built!” he said.
A proprietor of a mechanic shop, who wanted to be known only as Mr Loh, said that once the MRT station is completed, the buses and taxis waiting there will worsen Jalan Besar traffic jams.
“There is simply not enough space for an MRT” he said.
Alvin Wong, the owner of an electrical shop in Jalan Besar, also expressed doubts that the narrow road could fit the MRT.
“The MRT planks won’t be able to fit in this road. No need to build it here!” he said.
The Bandar Kajang MRT station also caused some concern earlier when the plans showed that a multi-storey car park would be built next to the station.
The plan was subsequently amended later to remove the car park to rectify what MRT booth attendants say was a “printing error”.
Kajang residents also expressed scepticism about the proposed Kajang station, slotted for Jalan Reko where there is currently a cluster of tin roofed houses.
Once completed, the station will connect users to the KTM station opposite via a covered walkway.
But taxi drivers who wanted to be known only as Murthy and Siva said that this connectivity will worsen the congestion at the KTM side in Jalan Bukit, where a few schools are situated just a few hundred metres to each other.
“The traffic is really bad in the mornings and evenings, and the cars parked alongside the road make it worse,” they said.
They said this situation can only be remedied by sufficient parking at the MRT station.
“It will reduce the traffic along Jalan Bukit,” they said.
While the MRT initiative has generally been welcomed by city commuters weary of traffic congestion and inadequate public transport infrastructure, it has also come under heavy criticism for its apparent haste and lack of consultation with city residents.
Residents in the affluent northwest suburbs of Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Bandar Utama and Damansara Heights have protested against the proposed station locations for fear that they would prove sub-optimal and also called for the MRT to go underground to avoid disturbing the already densely developed and mature neighbourhoods.
The Bandar Kajang and Kajang MRT stations are just two of the three MRT stations proposed in Kajang. Once they are completed, these two stations, along with the Saujana Impian one, will connect commuters to other parts of Klang Valley through a route spanning 35 stations.
The RM 36.6 billion MRT is the government’s most expensive project to date. Groundwork is expected to start in July, and complete in 2016.
