Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong has urged the state government to immediately postpone the trial run of the vehicle-free zone in Malacca city centre, suggesting that it be reviewed and re-implemented after the Chinese New Year celebrations.
In a statement today, he said the road closure for 54 hours has negatively impacted revenue of the business community in the area.
"Since last Friday, starting at 6pm, the Malacca city centre area has been undergoing a trial period of the vehicle-free zone plan, and many route changes have caused confusion and dissatisfaction among road users, including local residents and tourists.
"This vehicle-free zone plan clearly has a negative impact on local merchants, residents and tourists.
‘Therefore, the state government and Malacca city council should immediately postpone it, and conduct a review and listen to the voice of the people before making a decision after the Chinese New Year celebration," said Khoo.
He believed that the trial period was not well chosen as the state is mostly visited by tourists on weekends, and the last three weeks of the year are peak times for local traders to boost their sales.
"The state government has implemented the vehicle-free zone plan suddenly at the peak of the season, causing traders to be unprepared.
“If this continues, the adverse effects that will occur are inevitable.
"Not only does it affect the local tourism industry but also harms traders and makes tourists reluctant to visit Malacca," he said, noting that traders have started a petition asking the state government to cancel the vehicle-free zone plan.
Khoo said the state has not established new roads in the central area of Malacca but the number of vehicles continues to increase.
"The vehicle-free zone plan is also implemented in the city centre and it will only worsen the traffic congestion.
"If there is an emergency in the city, how long will it take the ambulance or Fire and Rescue Department to reach the scene? Wouldn’t this vehicle-free zone plan affect their rescue operations?" he asked.
Objections in the past
Meanwhile, Ayer Keroh assemblyperson Kerk Chee Yee also expressed his objection to the initiative, as well as the change of road direction in the surrounding area, including Jalan Bukit Cina.
"When the announcement was made around May, I expressed my disagreement about the proposal, due to the unavailability of public transport and parking that could be used as an alternative to reduce the impact of road closures.
"Furthermore, the closed route is the main route used by Malaccans every day," said Kerk.
He said that Khoo, Bandar Hilir assemblyperson Leng Chau Yen and himself were involved in dialogue sessions prior to the trial implementation and that several concerns were raised.
These included road congestion, emergency routes to hospitals and the impact on small businesses in and around the area, as well as the confusion of tourists driving in the area.
"Those worries were proven true," said Kerk.
He added that these were businesses around the zone which experienced a 90 percent drop in business, while motorists had been stuck in traffic jams for two hours on routes that usually only take 10 minutes.
“I see that this 'car-free zone' initiative is a failure and its adverse effects are far more than the good intended by the state government.” - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.