This u-turn has been largely controversial, with large amount of residents coming out strongly for and against it. It was brought about because the LRT construction that will affect the traffic lights up ahead at Subang Parade, and this is to ease congestion there. MPSJ will request Prasarana to add signages and blinkers to improve the safety of this u-turn.


(From The Star Metro, 28th Nov 2012)

Council authorises new U-turn to help ease congestion along Jalan Kemajuan

One of the traffic bottlenecks and annoyance in SS16 today is the que to u-turn at the traffic light in front of Carrefour Subang Jaya. This que caters to cars originating from Persiaran Kewajipan, and some from SS15/5, that are trying to access the developments in East SS16, from Carrefour, Subang Avenue up to Mesiniaga, as well as the KTM Komuter Station. They have no choice but to u-turn at this junction. This junction also caters for vehicles that need to turn right to access Subang Parade and Saujana Residency.

The ban of heavy vehicles from our 2 main roads (Persiaran Kewajipan & Persiaran Tujuan) during morning and evening hour was first mooted in 2010. Here's a link on what I've written on the subject back then:
http://www.rajiv4malaysia.com/2010/07/ban-of-heavy-vehicles-during-peak-hours.html

This matter was deliberated for a good few months, before the council approved the matter in December 2010. Since then, and after the necessary procedures to gazette the move, the ban has come into force.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(as reported by Selangor Times)



Published: Fri, 21 Sep 2012

Tackling Parking and Traffic Problems

by Rajiv Rishyakaran First of all, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all Subang Jaya residents a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, and to our Muslim brothers and sisters, Selamat Hari Raya Haji. This year we have seen among the many neighbourhood celebrations, one jointly organized by the Bomba, Police, Subang Jaya Community Fire Brigade, Summit USJ & MPSJ. This is certainly something new, and with a good turnout and community support, we hope to see it return next year.  Another thing we can all be proud of, that in all these Tanglung celebrations, we see a gathering of all races, coming together to celebrate and fellowship with one another.  Grand Dorsett Development As an update to development & sales of the Grand Dorsett Waterfront Hotel Suites (or service apartments), MPSJ has filed a case in court, seeking a declaration that the development was approved solely for the expansion of hotel facilities, and not to be sold as residential units. This move was made after consulting 2 legal firms, to ensure that MPSJ positions the case right, to uphold the spirit of the approval that was initially granted in October 2010. A Challenging Parking Problem Parking problems within the commercial areas are somewhat straightforward to resolve. In most cases, continuous enforcement is all that is needed. But what is truly challenging, is the spillover of commercial parking into adjacent housing areas. A number of our commercial areas are adjacent to housing areas, especially in SS15. Often, this would tempt visitors to the commercial centers to park in front of houses, causing inconvenience to the residents. Not only do they make it difficult for the residents to park their own car (as we know most houses can’t fit all their cars within the gate), sometimes these visitors park irresponsibly, blocking gates, or narrowing the road, making it difficult for others to pass through. One solution for this problem is for each resident to apply for the MPSJ sticker. This MPSJ sticker that cost RM3, is used to identify local residents, and makes it possible for MPSJ to take enforcement action on those causing inconvenience.  The challenge with this, however, is getting the cooperation of all local residents to apply for the sticker. One area that I’m working with closely on this is the SS15 Hexagon area (SS15/6), which is nearest to Taylors University. Tackling Sri KL Traffic Congestion I have recently met with Sri KL’s CEO, En Hanif Othman Merican with some of my JKP members to look into resolving the traffic problem we have on Persiaran Kewajipan every afternoon (on school days). Some misunderstandings between them and MPSJ in the past have been clarified, and I’m glad we were able to brainstorm a few alternatives, that would enable parents to pick up their children, as well as not congest Persiaran Kewajipan. These ideas require a little bit of further study, and we will be meeting Sri KL again in a few weeks time to see what might be feasible in moving forward.  I look forward to sharing more on this soon.

The locations of Pasar Ramadan in Subang Jaya has always raised objections every year, especially the one is SS18 & USJ4 (USJ1 & USJ7 escapes such level of complaints). The objections arise especially from the neighboring houses, which is very understandable. The complaints revolve around to traffic congestion, parking congestion, smoke from the cooking, & rubbish left over. This year, we have to also contend with the the on-going LRT construction.

As a councillor, this is one of the harder cases to handle, as unlike potholes or broken playground equipment, there is no clear answer that will satisfy all. All these issues have been discussed at length in MSPJ, and the approval to set up the Pasar Ramadan was certainly not taken lightly.

Pasar Ramadan is very popular among the residents, and arguably has been for a very long time part of our traditions and way of life. A simple google search on "Pasar Ramadan" will yield so many results of blog post and forum comments demonstrating that fact.

Unfortunately, unlike some other townships, Subang Jaya is very "built-up", leaving very little open space suitable for this Pasar Ramadan. I recall in some other areas, it is held in Stadium car parks, among other places, which are not near houses. But such locations are not to be found in Subang Jaya.

The next best thing to do (also considering that Pasar Ramadan has been in Subang Jaya as far back as I can remember), is to manage the situation, to mitigate all inconveniences to the nearby houses. For the case of SS18, the Pasar Ramadan is still maintained there for the features where are yet to be identified elsewhere within the SS12-SS19 area, namely:

• The stretch of stalls must not prevent access to any homes, i.e. are there alternative roads to access the houses
• Availability of parking places (yes, admittedly there will never be sufficient "parking boxes", but the impact of overflow of parking should not grind traffic to a complete halt and minimize impact to overall traffic circulation. Thus, proximity to a underutilized main road like Persiaran Jengka between SS14/SS18 helps.
• The activities should not, if possible affect the traffic flow on Persiaran Kewajipan & Persiaran Tujuan, as this road at critical during the evening rush hour.   

In the last couple of weeks, I have had discussions with both MPSJ and Prasarana on measures to mitigate traffic and parking issues, namely (do also refer to the diagram below)

1. The reduction of stalls this year (from 200+ to 184 this year), and its relocation towards SS18/1...
2. freeing up the circulation around the Padang, to enable more cars to park and move around the padang (not inside the padang!)
3. Enforcement officers will be placed on the 4 residential streets to ensure proper parking.
4. A total of 15 traffic enforcement officers will be placed around the area to help ensure proper parking and traffic flow.
5. Prasarana will open at least 3 openings in the construction barriers for safe crossing from SS14 to SS18
6. Prasarana will also ensure at least 2 lanes be open at all times, and where possible more than 2 lanes to facilitate traffic
7. Prasarana has also committed to doing "Water spray" in the area before the stall set up everyday to minimize dust effects on the Pasar Ramadan. 

Hannah Yeoh & myself have also done a press conference today on this issue, and we do ask for the cooperation of all visitors to the Pasar Ramadan to cooperate with MPSJ's enforcement officers, and to not park indiscriminately. 

(SPAD = Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat)

A couple of months ago, I mooted the idea of banning heavy vehicles from both Persiaran Tujuan & Persiaran Kewajipan, as measures to improved the traffic congestion. This ban is suggested during the morning and evening rush hour. 

MPSJ to empower its traffic wardens to help police during peak hours

By JADE CHAN
jade@thestar.com.my

If this goes thru, at last MPSJ summons would have some bite, and this will help with enforcement and bringing order especially to commercial centers.

This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/19/central/6286711&sec=central

__________________________________________________________________________

REPEAT traffic and parking offenders beware — if an amendment of the Road Transport Act at the next Parliament session goes through, it will see the linking of local council summonses to road tax renewal.

Now, offenders need only settle summonses that are issued by the traffic police or Road Transport Department (JPJ) for offences like using a handphone while driving, speeding, not stopping at traffic lights or driving with an expired road tax, before they renew their road tax.

A local council issues summonses to offenders who do not pay for their parking, double park, or park at non-designated parking spots.
Gotcha!: Traffic offenders may have to settle their local council summonses before they can renew their road tax if an amendment to the Road Transport Act is passed at the Parliament session in June.
Traffic offenders will be slapped with a RM80 fine in areas under the Subang Jaya Municipal Council's (MPSJ) jurisdiction.

A grace period is given whereby they can appeal for their fines to be lowered if it is paid early.

However, many offenders choose to ignore the local council summonses as it does not affect their road tax renewal.

According to the MPSJ, the council issues an average of 17,000 traffic summonses a month, of which only 17% is settled.

The only way that the council can enforce its traffic and parking rules is to haul offenders to court, but there are limitations in terms of time and resources.

A source said a proposal was brought up during a recent briefing with the JPJ.

"If an amendment to Section 17(1)(d) of the Road Transport Act 1978 (Act 333) is passed at the next Parliament session in June, local councils would be able to link up with the JPJ.

"When that happens, offenders will have to settle their local council summonses before renewing their road tax.

"This link is necessary in urban councils where parking issues are especially rampant," he said.

Among the urban councils the source cited are the Petaling Jaya City Council, Klang Municipal Council, Kajang Municipal Council, Selayang Municipal Council and MPSJ.

There are about 150 local councils in Malaysia.
__________________________________________________________________________
Your one-stop information portal:
The Star Online
http://thestar.com.my
Copyright © 1995-2010 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited.

The measures described is my previous post on traffic light timings has just been programmed and effective immediately. MPSJ will be monitoring the effects of the changes.

MPSJ's committee for traffic and public transportation met last Friday. I had an endless among of issues to raise, but due to time constraints, we had to prioritize them. Some of the outcomes:

1. SS19 traffic light on Persiaran Tujuan will revent to 1 lane turning right from Persiaran Tujuan into SS19/6.

2. The constant jam due to cars on yellow box in from of Summit USJ traffic light. - MPSJ will call Kesas for a meeting, as Kesas operates the other traffic light. Both traffic lights needs to be in sync, to help reduce the jam, and the frustration of road users that lead to blocking the yellow boxes

3. Persiaran Tujuan traffic lights, which got new peak hour timings May 2009 - this peak hour timings which previously was from Monday to Friday will be extended to Saturday lunch hour also. No changes for Sunday.

4. Timing for traffic lights at J11, intersection between Persiaran Tujuan and Persiaran Kewajipan will be modified during evening peak hour, to give extra 30 secs for traffic heading into USJ from SS19. The right turn from USJ at this traffic light turning into Persiaran Murni will be reduced as well. This change applies only during evening peak hours.

5. Timing of traffic lights at Persiaran Setia/Persiaran Tujuan will be adjusted during the morning peak hours. Timing from Perisaran Tujuan heading out towards federal highway will increase by approx 20secs, to help clear the backlog around USJ12.

6. Traffic lights at TP1 housing area intersecting with Persiaran Setia may change to on demand only type, to prevent unnecessary green light cycles. Mr Keshmindar, councillor for TP areas, will consult with the residents before any implementation takes place.

A number of other issues, like optimizing the traffic light timings along Persiaran Bakti will be discussed in the coming meeting.

1. No flow, in or out from Persiaran Setia (at the USJ3ABCD bridge) into Kesas, as both Kesas and residents reject it. Kesas, to maintain their traffic count, residents, to prevent more cars coming thru Pers Setia. Also, it is very near the Elite Highway interchange.

2. No link from Persiaran Tujuan to Kesas. Many reason given by, among them
- Too sharp a curve
- Too near proposed u-turn (u-turn to phase out traffic lights at Kesas-Kewajipan)
- Not enough space, may have to encroach on houses at the corner.
- And I'm sure Kesas doesn't want to increase non-toll-paying traffic on their highway.

3. Federal Highway-Kesas link is under study, option still open though from discussion, seems like chances are unlikely to happen

4. TP4- Kesas link is under study, option still open though from discussion, seems like chances are unlikely to happen. Very little space between the petrol stations and proton, and taking into account the motorcycle lane.

5. Improvements that are closer to reality
a) widening of Kesas from Kewajipan to Hicom from 3 lanes to 4 lanes
b) construction of 2 u-turns, one before Sunway toll & another between Kewajipan & Tujuan.

By THO XIN YI

Dear residents on JKP Zon3 (USJ2-15),

I will be hosting a roundtable discussion on traffic issues only. Details:
Date: Monday, 1st March 2010
Time: 8:30pm - 10:00pm
Venue: MPSJ (meeting room to be confirmed)

Please note that that this meeting will be restricted to issues regarding traffic.

Please rsvp your attendance to rajiv@dapsj.com. Limited seats.

An update from this posting,

I just got the sms that the traffic light retiming works have just been completed. From tomorrow (29Jan) morning, the timing for AM peak will be as IKRAM has set in May 2009. As for PM peak, the light timings have been extended from 4:30pm to 8:30pm.

I'm also arranging for a site visit with IKRAM next week to evaluate the traffic flow during the peak periods.

The meeting with IKRAM @ MPSJ at 3:30pm today:

1. The timings shown on the powerpoints slides that are with me, Hannah, Arvin (and I don't know who else has it) has not been used since May 2009.

2. Upon implementation in May 2009, IKRAM and MPSJ set up camp for one week to monitor the implementation. During that implementation, a number of changes were made to the original proposal approved. (unfortunately, no one bothered to tell the councillors/adun).

3. The timings that IKRAM/MPSJ Engineering finally agreed upon was then documented and sent to MPSJ by IKRAM in a project completion report in July 2009. So, there is the proposed timing and implemented timing, both of which is quite different. Then there is also current timing, which is what is measure/programmed today. Finally there's I think one of the key differences during AM peak is Tujuan turning right into SS19 instead of 20sec its 30sec/50sec.

4. While proposed timing and implemented timing is quite different, implemented timing and current timing is nearly the same. For AM peak, the difference is that after 7:15am the SS19 turn right changes from 50sec to 30sec, whereas for current timing, that happens at 7:30pm.

5. Actions to be taken tonight by contractor (or latest tomorrow)
J10 (SS19) AM peak - to revert to implemented timing
J11 (USJ2) AM peak - alreaidy implemented timing, no changes
J10 PM Peak - already implemented timing. To extend PM peak to 430pm-830pm from current 6pm-8pm
J11 PM Peak - already implemented timing. To extend PM peak to 430pm-830pm from current 5pm-8pm

To be honest, I can't be certain when implemented timing moved current timing, but MPSJ Engineering says it was done during a site visit by IKRAM (Mr Tan, who is no longer working with IKRAM) somewhere in July/Aug last year.

If after this minor changes has been done, the condition is not satisfactory, then it means that the traffic patterns/volume has changed, and we need to go thru a whole new traffic study/implement a new system.

The timings that are running on the ground now are NOT the same as per the presentation by IKRAM in April 2009, which Arvin & I have a copy. Over the last one week, MPSJ Engineering (Boss/Director: Ir Ismail, Engineer: En Taufik) claimed that there was some wiring problem, giving intermitent connections, causing the chaos in timing. I was and still am very spectical of this. However they said it'll be fixed by Tuesday night, 26 Jan, and apparently it was one.

On 27th, I was at SS19 traffic lights at 7am, and then after than at Pers Murni to check the timings. The timings, to my annoyance, was not at all as per IKRAM's documentation.

Engineering and the traffic light contractor stood by the claim that during the one week on site monitoring in May 2009, it was found that IKRAM's suggestion was not working, and they experimented together with IKRAM on site and came up with this new set of timings, which they said was the best. The timings have apparently not been adjusted since May 2009.

So, if no one was lying, by right traffic today and yesterday should be back to normal. But I know its not. I insisted on a meeting with IKRAM that day inself to get to the bottom of this, unfortunately, the person who did this project was in Melaka, so the meeting is today at 3:30pm.

We'll get to the bottom of this mess then.