Council plans more streetlights to Jalan Pintas
Published on: Tuesday, October 31, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
The Council’s staff notes the inoperative streetlights at this section of Jalan Pintas in Penampang.
THE District Council plans to add more streetlights to a section of Jalan Pintas in Penampang, while the Public Works Department (PWD) is deciding whether to have traffic lights put up at this part of the road.
Both agencies are keen to minimise the likelihood of accidents taking place at a U-turn, where two senior citizens lost their lives on a recent Sunday night.
ADVERTISEMENT
The couple’s car had been exiting from the U-turn, towards the Padimas Point commercial centre, when it was hit by a four-wheel-drive bound for Dongonggon.
The collision was captured by a dashboard camera inside a vehicle which was in the area at the time.
The section where the U-turn is located was found to be adequately lit.
A Penampang driver, who saw the nine-second video which was circulated over social media, felt that the night-time visibility on Jalan Pintas urgently needed to be improved.
He said it was imperative to ensure that the stretch was properly lit for the safety of the hundreds of road-users who used the stretch daily.
ADVERTISEMENT
A Council spokesman hoped to install seven new streetlights on the divider in the middle of the road after Plaza 333.
“We have estimated the cost of this work and are in the process of drawing up a Bill of Quantities (BQ) to apply for an allocation from the Finance Ministry,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said a check was made of the public lighting on Jalan Pintas shortly after it learned what had happened to the elderly couple.
“The staff who inspected the road noted that the lights in some places were inoperative.
“With the exception of one of these amenities which was run down, our technicians are working to the rest restored as soon as possible.”
He said the agency was arranging to have the fallen pole replaced.
When asked how often maintenance was carried out on the lights on the divider, he said this was done regularly according to a fixed schedule.
The Council has previously admitted to facing an uphill task keeping Jalan Pintas properly illuminated as the control panels servicing the lights keep getting run into by drivers barrelling down the stretch.
Because of the frequency with which the infrastructure for these facilities was being damaged, the spokesman said it had begun seeking compensation from the errant drivers.
“It was becoming too expensive to repeatedly deal with such accident-related issues, especially when the control panels for these amenities constantly had to be repaired,” he said.
“On top of the costs, lengthy sections of the road would go unlit for months at a time, while we tried to source for funds to either replace the panels entirely or the damaged components inside.”
A PWD spokesman said a team from the Department’s Traffic Section went to Jalan Pintas a day after the accident occurred.
“They monitored the flow of traffic at the U-turn and brainstormed on possible ways to look after the safety of drivers exiting towards Padimas Point,” he said.
“We want to make the public more aware about the presence of the U-turn in this part of the road.”
When asked whether traffic lights might be in order to bring the oncoming traffic to a halt so that drivers could make the U-turn safely, the spokesman said this was one idea which the Department was considering.
“However, we have some reservations in doing this as it might give rise to jams on the road,” he said.
He said there were already two sets of traffic lights on the stretch after Hotel Number Five, with a third due to be put up once the road modification near the Sigah roundabout came to pass.
“If we went ahead and put up another set near the U-turn, there would be four pairs of traffic lights along a 10-kilometre span of Jalan Pintas.
“We are still studying all our options but we want to do something about this U-turn and others under our jurisdiction.”
The spokesman declined to elaborate on the nature of the plan involving U-turns.
A few years ago, the PWD revealed that it intended to phase out right turns, like the ones drivers have to make at the U-turn on Jalan Pintas,
This initiative was being taken in the interest of preserving the safety of motorists and easing the congestion caused when drivers made right turns.
“We have noticed that many accidents occur when motorists are trying to make a right turn,” another spokesman said at the time.
“Many drivers find it difficult to make this turn and hesitate, hence increasing the risk of running into, or colliding, with an oncoming vehicle.”
He said this indecision gave rise to a jam as the driver wanting to turn inevitably forced other road users to wait behind him/ her.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
.jpg)
.jpg)
