Have all options been considered to ease Penang’s traffic snarl?
From Andrew Lee
I refer to the article Penang’s traffic mess self-inflicted, say activists, and the chief minister’s defence for an underpass project at the Mount Erskine-Bagan Jermal junction.
It is true that proper roads are needed to meet modern needs, as is the case of Mount Erskine Road, where things have not changed for ages. However, does the traffic volume justify building an underpass?
As traffic consultant Wan Agyl Wan Hassan mentioned in the former article, there is a lack of smart or optimised traffic lights around the whole of Penang.
For this to work, traffic lights on roads leading into the business district should be primed for green for a longer stretch than for traffic going in the opposite direction during rush hour, usually 7am to 8am.
With the static-time traffic lights we have now, commuters are often forced to wait through a cycle even when there is barely any traffic in the opposite direction, resulting in a huge waste of traffic capacity.
Then there is…
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