Why is the traffic so horrendous on Penang Island?

 

The simplest answer that I can think of to my question, is that the Penang state government always puts the cart before the horse.

This week, it was announced that the Penang International Airport (PIA) will see a RM1.5 billion expansion project. It is about time that PIA is expanded and upgraded. After all, it is the gateway to the north of the peninsula for both tourism, and industry.

The airport, first built in 1935, has seen two major upgrades prior to this. The first was in 1979 when it was completely modernised, and the second in 2013 when it was upgraded. Currently, PIA is the third busiest airport in Malaysia, after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

As a business owner on the island, and a half-the-week Penang resident, this is fabulous news. The current iteration of PIA is a little jaded and worse for wear. It is a functional international airport, and since the new multistorey car park was opened last year, it has become way better than it was before. But, as a weekly user of this airport, I cannot but agree than an expansion and upgrade is sorely needed.

I believe the tourism sector, the manufacturing industries, the low-cost travel segment, and small businesses like my restaurant, will all benefit from a spanking new international airport. With more commercial aircraft parking bays, an expanded ecosystem, and an increase in car parking lots from 1700 to the new projected 3400 lots, this new version of PIA will be a boost for all of us who live and work in Penang.

I hope more airlines start flying in, so that Penangites and those in the northern region of Malaysia don’t have to take connecting flights via Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, or Bangkok to travel the world.

It all seems like darn good news, doesn’t it? Or does it?

Here’s the thing. In Penang, I live in Tanjung Tokong on the island, and PIA is a mere 23km from where I stay. A drive to the airport, via e-hailing or taxi, during off-peak times, already takes around forty five minutes. If I leave during the peak hours of 7am to 9am or 5pm to 8pm, it can take up to an hour and forty five minutes for this short 23km ride.

Just imagine, the 60km drive from my home in Taman Tun Dr Ismail in Kuala Lumpur to KLIA, also takes the same forty five minutes, during off-peak hours, and only about an hour and twenty minutes during peak hours.

In Penang, for my professional work as a management consultant and leadership coach, many of my clients are situated on the mainland. Often, I have to drive to Perai to start my training programmes at 9am. On average, the 25-30km drive in the morning will take me about an hour and fifteen minutes. The return journey at about 5pm or 5.30pm is always a crapshoot. It could take anywhere between an hour and a half to two hours.

The bottlenecks that cause these traffic congestions begin as hundreds, maybe thousands of cars leave the Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Bungah, Fettes Park, Mount Erskine, and surrounding areas. There are only two feeder roads for all these drivers. Either through the larger Tanjung Tokong Road or the narrow Mount Erskine Road.

Of late, the traffic has gotten worse. The wonderful Gurney Bay, the seafront park, touted as a “new iconic waterfront destination for Penang” has opened. It’s a great space and a fantastic initiative by the state government. But absolutely no provisions were made for the large volume of traffic. Many of us, who live in the northern part of the island, have to use Gurney Drive to get into town, the airport, or on to the Penang bridges. And, this new “project” has messed up the roads further.

Like this, I can go on belabouring the point of the horrendous traffic situation on the island. It affects our work productivity, and it is highly damaging to business, especially small businesses like mine. There have been numerous times when customers booked to have dinner at my restaurant in Straits Quay in Tanjung Tokong, who have called in to cancel their reservation on account of being caught in an atrocious traffic congestion.

The sanguine driving style of many Penang Island denizens, the plethora of road side stalls, the glut of malls, especially in areas like Kelawei Road, also contribute to the dreadful and unbearable bottlenecks on the island. Coming on and off the two bridges at peak hours with people working in the industrial engines of Bayan Lepas, Batu Kawan, and Perai, naturally leads to stupendous traffic jams.

The expanded airport will be magnificent for business, and our connectivity to the world. We need more people coming to the Pearl of the Orient. It is a fantastic island that I call home.

But in creating waterfront parks, glamourous housing and malls, attracting international industrial players to set up shop, all in the name of business and growth, and to now expanding the airport, the Penang state government seems to have forgotten that the quality of life is also vital for those of us living on the island.

If locals spend their days stuck in traffic jams just to go from one place to another, it is an unmitigated disaster. So why doesn’t the state government address this significant problem first before it does anything else.

So yes, once again, the Penang state government has put the cart before the horse. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.