PETALING Jaya residents are experiencing deja vu as banners protesting the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal (PJD) Link echo a similar sentiment from a decade ago when Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) faced opposition.

The PJD Link project is reminiscent of the Kidex, which was cancelled in 2015, prompting the question: Does Klang Valley need another tolled highway?

No need for ‘dispersal’

The one-way loop system in the PJ central business district has eased traffic bottlenecks and congestion along the interchanges with the Federal Highway. There are no notable traffic congestion points on roads connected to this loop, except for a short stretch during the morning and evening rush hours. This can be expected in any urban environment as traffic volume increases proportionately during peak periods.

So there is no need for another highway to disperse the traffic.

PJ as a bypass

When traffic from other areas is channelled into PJ to bypass other congested roads, that cannot be said to disperse PJ traffic. The terminology “dispersal” here is wrongly applied and misleading.

PJ residents have suffered long enough as a result of Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), which is not a proper “lebuhraya’ (highway) in the first place. The Malaysian Highway Authority has admitted that the LDP did not and still does not meet highway standards in terms of technical design, capacity and safety features. Nor did it ever disperse PJ’s traffic congestion.

As a matter of fact, traffic on this “expressway” has gotten worse.

As we have witnessed for many years now, traffic from other areas has been converging on the LDP as a means of a shortcut to became the main source of congestion in many parts of PJ.

Not useful 

Similar claims are now being made about the PJD Link’s ability to disperse PJ’s congested traffic, which doesn’t exist. 

Both the so-called LDP expressway and another fake dispersal link serve no useful purpose. It will only bring more traffic snarls and attract unwanted bypassing traffic. – December 9, 2023.

C. Nicholl reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.