FOR those who always park illegally in USJ 21, SS15 and SS16 — beware, you may find a yellow tag attached to your side mirror soon.
At the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) full board meeting on Wednesday, MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikshan announced that the council planned to extend the use of summons locks to other areas, following its success in curbing indiscriminate parking in USJ 10 (Taipan).
Originally, the council intended to implement the system in USJ 9, too, but councillor Rajiv Rishyakaran said it was not feasible as the commercial area did not have enough parking bays.
He suggested extending the system to SS16 instead as motorists always park along Jalan Kemajuan Subang.
Adnan said the system would be implemented at these three places soon.
The public will be informed before the system is introduced.
In response to a question on whether an office would be set up at these places for the motorists to pay the fine and have the locks removed, councillor Stephen Chin Sou Bong said the offenders should not be given “special treatment”.
Fellow councillor Tan Jo Hann agreed, adding that the purpose of the system was to discourage the motorists from parking illegally.
Adnan said the offenders had to come to the MPSJ headquarters in USJ 5 to settle the fine.
The summons locks were first introduced in December last year. The yellow tags would be attached to the side mirrors of the vehicles that obstruct traffic.
The motorists have to pay a fine of RM80 to have the tags removed by the enforcement officers on duty, upon presenting proof of payment.
Currently, the council has 1,850 summons locks. As of April 21, the locks were used 2,284 times and 26% did not settle the fine.
“We have issued 1,078 reminders to the offenders who did not return the locks and 747 have responded,” Adnan said.

thoxinyi@thestar.com.my
LITTERING and non-pedestrian-friendly walkways are among the problems identified in Taipan, USJ 10.
During a recent inspection by personnel from the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) engineering department, MPSJ councillor Rajiv Rishyakaran noticed that the roadsides, backlanes and certain corners in front of the shops were littered with rubbish.
Wooden planks, broken chairs and umbrellas were among the items discarded, contributing to the ugly sight in the commercial area and a stretch of walkway in Jalan USJ 10/1B was obstructed by fallen cylindrical pots.
There was even a small metal pole sticking out from the ground, posing a danger to pedestrians.
Other problems include missing drain covers, poor road condition and flower pots becoming mosquito-breeding grounds.
Rajiv said he had asked the engineering department to look into tarring the roads and upgrading the walkways.
“My aim is to have a clear and easily accessible walkway from any one point to another point in Taipan so that the pedestrians do not have to walk on the roads.
“Ideally, there should be trees wherever possible and in the long term, the paths should be disabled friendly, too,” he said.

1. Encourages public transport usage

2. Encourages walking 

3. Safer walking experience for those presently walking. 

Its heartening to know that Penang's top cop is concerned about the welfare of his officers. However, lamenting about the high rental rates in Penang (in fact in all cities in Malaysia as well) is going to be of much help to the officers. 

I suggest that he steps up efforts to increase the amount of police quarters to accommodate all officers. Alternatively, the police can increase the accommodation/cost of living allowance, to an amount that is realistic for the officers. This would be easier and faster to implement. 

I hope that the good intentions of the Penang CPO would be translate in action for our good men in blue

thoxinyi@thestar.com.my
ONE of the possible solutions to the traffic congestion in Persiaran Kewajipan is to take away the traffic lights in front of the Summit USJ.
In a meeting with USJ 9 and USJ 11 residents, Subang Jaya municipal councillor Rajiv Rishyakaran said the four-phase traffic lights at the interchange was holding up the traffic.
“If we remove the traffic lights, motorists travelling along Persiaran Kewajipan can enjoy free flowing traffic to get to USJ or Subang Jaya.
“Kesas, the highway concessionaire for Shah Alam Express-way, has to build two U-turns - one in front of the Sunway toll plaza and the other in the opposite direction — to facilitate motorists going to Puchong or Shah Alam,” he said.
He said Kesas had recently agreed to look into this suggestion.
On the parking nightmare in the USJ 9 commercial area, Rajiv said the council was planning to take measures and one of it was to legalise double parking to manage the situation.
“We can probably draw boxes for double parking but the vehicle owners must leave their contact numbers and respond within three to five minutes when the other car owners want to leave. Otherwise, their vehicles will be towed away,” he said.
However, Rajiv said this suggestion had received mixed reaction and as such nothing had been finalised yet.
Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh, on the other hand, updated the residents on various issues in the area, including her plan to turn Millennium Park into a Speakers’ Corner.
Also present were Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua and Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne.

WHILE the trend now seems to be barricading housing areas, a group of residents in Subang Jaya and USJ have volunteered to patrol the streets.
Mak Meng Chin, a USJ 11 resident, initiated the Voluntary Patrol Unit (VPU) in December last year with Subang Jaya municipal councillor Rajiv Rishyakaran and they had since roped in about 50 volunteers.
“Gated and guarded schemes are not the long-term solution to fighting crime.
“With patrolling, we increase the presence of watchful eyes on the streets to deter crime,” the 46-year-old said.
The unit has been patrolling Subang Jaya and USJ since January 11, from 9am to 5pm on weekdays in two-hour shifts.
One volunteer, one police officer and one Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) employee would meet at the USJ 8 police station before proceeding to the residential areas, especially those without the gated and guarded scheme.
They keep a logbook of the areas they have patrolled, so the volunteers in the following shifts could decide where to head to next.
Some volunteers even take time off from work to participate in this effort.
“Everyone — retirees or working adults — can volunteer. We have a bank employee who has sought permission from his boss to patrol for two hours before going to work,” Mak said.
Besides patrolling the streets and keeping an eye on suspicious characters, the volunteers also look out for unlocked gates and advice house- owners to keep their gates closed at all times.
“When they leave their gates open, they lose one line of defence. Anyone can enter their houses freely and destroy the locks of their front doors in seconds,” Mak said.
USJ 4 resident James Lok joined the VPU since the very beginning and he patrols once a week.
“We have heard of a lot of snatch thefts and break-ins. This is a community service to ensure the area is safe,” the 56-year-old retiree said.
Rajiv said many were sceptical when the idea of forming this unit was first brought up, but it had been progressing well.
“Other areas can follow suit and start their own patrolling units, too,” he said.
USJ 8 police station officer-in-charge ASP Loi Yew Lik said the patrolling effort is effective as the crime rate in USJ has shown a decline by about 10%.
“I contribute one staff member for eight hours a day to this patrol unit, which covers quite a large area.
“Most importantly, the project has received an encouraging response from the public. It won’t work if the public don’t chip in their efforts,” he said.
Loi added that the patrolling also served as a good interaction point for his men to get to know the public.
Mak stressed that it was safe to be involved in this patrolling effort as the volunteers do not confront and catch the perpetrators, but left it to the police officers.
The group even has four women volunteers.
Those interested in joining the VPU or sponsoring vehicles and funds, can e-mail Mak at mcmak64@hotmail.com.

1 Hour Tickets For Taipan Subang Jaya Patrons

By Hazlinda Hamzah

SUBANG JAYA, March 30 (Bernama) -- The Subang Jaya Municipal Council or MPSJ, in charge of the Taipan Business Centre and the surrounding areas, has implemented the 1 hour parking ticket for visitors since January 4.

It is to prevent cars being parked for the whole day that contributes to the growing congestion in the business centre especially during peak hours.

These cars are believed to be that of the business operators who park in front of their business lots and shops from early morning right through late afternoon.

Their cars leave the place only when they close shop in the evening.

The response to this new parking system and its implementation are noticeably quite balanced.

"I find it acceptable but maybe if it is for two hours continuously, it would be better. The banks can take longer time especially at the counters and if we need the doctor's consultation, it can go past the hour. This can help reduce our stress level, no need to go in and out of the clinic or bank to go get a new parking ticket," said Aaron (not his real name).

This resident of Subang Jaya frequents the Taipan USJ 10 Business Centre to complete his banking chores.

Other than that, Aaron has his kids joining tuition classes in the evenings at Taipan and the queue to drop and fetch them to and back, needs tremendous patience as well.

"To get in and out of the Taipan business centre at night is actually more tedious.

Most parking spaces are occupied by mobile commercial vans doing sales at night, and even the make shift stalls selling finger food and tit bits.

"I understand they want to earn a living. That is why we just leave our kids for an hour or two and fetch them back later.

However, a small jam would build up on the respective streets as most parents are practicing the same idea and routine week after week," Aaron added when met at a dialogue session on the 1hour parking rule.

AVOIDING CONGESTTION

A 4-storey covered parking complex, spacious enough to house 914 cars at one time is already located in the middle of this business centre.

It is currently managed by Corporate Parking Sdn Bhd, charging its season clients RM80 per month. This rate is the newly reduced charge for unlimited parking use.

The RM25 drop in charges saw the company earning 20 per cent more customers recently especially when the implementation of the 1 hour ticket came into light.

To date, there are 1,015 open parking lots around the Taipan Business Centre.

A business office lot occupant in Taipan, Esther Ong, attended a dialogue held in MPSJ to listen and contribute suggestions to the newly applied rule in relation to the parking system.

Esther who is a lawyer by profession said, "I find the 1 hour ticket parking system reasonable, after all, there is the parking complex for those wanting to park the whole day. However, the hourly parking charge at the complex is too expensive.

It is two hours for RM3 whereas outside, it is only 50 sen an hour. And then there is that walk. Although good, the weather is not on our side always."

RESIDENTS' WOES

Another resident from USJ6, a stone's throw from the busy business centre which houses local and foreign banks including Standard Chartered, OCBC, HSBC, Public Bank, Bank Islam and EON Bank, finds this new system creating new concern to his area.

Bernard Cheah said, "now more people park on the grass verge in front of our houses. Very troublesome! Sometimes it is too close to our gates and we find it difficult to maneuver out of our spaces. This can get worse when the trial implementation goes permanent".

An MPSJ councilor, Rajiv Rishyakaran advised the residents of the affected areas to purchase car stickers from the municipal to register them as valid USJ6 residents.

"I will bring this up to the MPSJ. With the stickers, it would be easier for the enforcement to do the necessary, if and when the need arises. So those found 'trespassing', can be dealt with accordingly," Rajiv explained to the anxious audience.

The Town Council Dialogue was held in MPSJ, initiated by Subang Jaya's Member of Parliament (MP) Hannah Yeoh with the active participation of the municipal's officers and councilor.

HOPES AND EXPECTATIONS

When the trial period becomes permanent in no time, the municipal will execute a system, the finalised and agreed version, presumably with the necessary adjustments.

And when that takes place, the people will have to plan their trip to this business centre properly, so that they can avoid the unwanted space-less moments for their vehicles and save them that long walk to their desired place and offices.

The best solution in any municipal related matter, according to a shy gentleman who sat alone, was to ensure an increased satisfaction among residents and facility users.

He added, "the effort to improve the parking system in this area is commendable. I agree with the 1 hour ticket for Taipan. However, please do not make penalty the focused solution, instead educate the users more."

-- BERNAMA