LONG QUEUE IN FRONT TSHUNG TSIN

QUEUE.... Long queue of cars waiting outside of school on the main road.

THE HEAVY traffic jam problem in Jalan Damai towards Jalan Tuaran resulted from the long queue of cars parked on the main road waiting for students to finish school has been on going for years now.

The road users and parents had complained to the Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament and seek his help to get the problem highlighted and bring to the attention of the authorities.

On inspecting the traffic jam here, KK MP Hiew noticed that the queue of cars begins to build up from 2.30 pm and will continue to after 3.30 pm after school. This car queue is causing jam along the road because the cars are not allowed into the school until 3.15pm when the school gate is finally opened to let the parents’ car into the school compound.

Anyhow, there are some other cars prefer to wait outside the school, parking along the road in double lanes, taking up the lanes of the main road. The school entrance has been blocked at times where the school staffs can not get in or out.

Hiew spoke to some parents who are waiting in the queue for their children to finish school and their said that it is very hard for them to come as early as 2.00 pm to queue up here. It is very difficult for them to spend time on waiting.

They hope that the school management could arrange a better system to ease the situation. They also said that the existing parking system outside the school is bad and causing lots of problem. They know this is not right to take up the main road to park their cars but they have no choice. There is just no way to park the cars.

There are ways to ease the problems here, and KK MP Hiew suggested that the parents to consider either to choose to come slightly late after school to pick up their children, or wait some where else near by. The school has to consider to open the school gate half and hour early to allow the cars into the school compound, so as to reduce the jam outside.

The walkway outside the fence can be removed to create car parking space, and the school can build their own walkway inside their fence line for the student to walk by safely. In this case there will be an additional of at least 50 cars can park.

The two entrance gateways to the school should be painted with a “Yellow Box” to warn the drivers not to park their cars blocking the way of in and out. JKR may be able to help in removing the existing walkway and creating more car parks out side the school. They can come to do the “Yellow Box” immediately too. It is a job that is to be done as soon as possible. - Sabahkini