Traffic Jam....no sign of its solution!

Since Penang was listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site City, there has been an increase of influx of tourists both local and foreign. The scenario in Penang nowadays especially George Town where most of the heritage sites situated is congestion of vehicles and traffic jam with vehicles crawling like tortoises on the major roads. It is not uncommon for any car to arrive its destination about 30 minutes later for a road of less than 5 kilometers.

The poor planning of traffic control, the disruptive traffic flow from the existence of bus-stands at illogical locations, unsynchronized traffic light timing, placement of parking lots along the roads are some of the reasons why the traffic flow is becoming impeded. Notwithstanding the above, the present Penang authority seems ignorant the present predicament and inconveniences faced by the road-users and focuses only on the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP )which is yet to embark for solving the escalating traffic congestion in the city.

As the PTMP is to take years for its completion, what is the short-term plan to alleviate or minimize the traffic congestion ? Are the Penangites to continue wasting their time on the roads and suffering from the hot sunshine? Penangites need to be given an answer and solutions ! It is no use of keep on issuing summons on illegal parkings penalizing the helpless motorists without any intermediate and transitional measures to help the road users.