Enough is enough!
Posted by LeeYK
Source: theStar Aug 17
THE uncompleted stretch of the road linking Ara Damansara to Tropicana has pushed the patience of Ara Damansara to their limits.
Last Saturday, Ara Damansara residents took matters into their own hands when about 50 people gathered at the site to patch up the metre-wide trench. The link road is about 70% completed and not tarred.
Residents’ coordinator Wenny Lim said work started at the site in April and by May the laterite road had been surfaced.
“Because of the unbearable traffic congestion we have to deal with, residents were even willing to use the gravel road,” said Lim.
However, she said things took an ugly turn early this month when someone dug up a metre-wide trench at either end of the unfinished road.
“On Aug 10, I was trying to use the road to get to Tropicana and one resident stood at the entrance with a young child to block motorists from using the road. Later that day, we saw that a trench has been dug up, so cars have to go slowly and carefully when passing through the stretch,” said Lim.
She said they organised the gotong-royong to patch up the trench on the road so that residents could use it until the authorities come up with a solution.
Petaling Jaya city councillor Kandeah Subramaniam and Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah’s aide Peter Chong were also present at the gotong-royong session.
Kandeah said work to complete the link was stopped because an injunction was filed recently to stop the road from being opened.
The short stretch, barely 100m long, has long been embroiled in controversy. When the owners of houses in Tropicana, Damansara Idaman, Damansara Lagenda and Ara Damansara moved in, there was a proposal to link the road between the two areas.
In 2004, the Tropicana Residents Association protested against the linking of the two areas because the Persiaran Tropicana tunnel only had one lane each for traffic coming in and out of the area.
The Tropicana residents then filed an injunction to keep the link closed until the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) widened the tunnel and improve traffic flow in the area.
After the Jalan Tanjung fiasco late last year, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in November 2009 had asked for the Ara Damansara-Tropicana link to be opened.
Chong said the earlier injunction had been lifted when the tunnel was completed. He added that councillors Kandeah, whose zone includes Tropicana, and Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin, who oversees Ara Damansara, would follow up on the issue with the council.
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We did it! It was one big picture on the front page of the metro in the star newspaper today!! Thank you to all who helped on Sunday and lending their moral support. Just to make sure our frustation do not fall on deaf ear, I suggest residents from Ara call the engineering dept or the MBPJ hotline every week to make our case heard and action taken. It is time for the authorities to realise that the people are their real employers and not any politicians.
The effort is commendable. But now there is another problem. The traffic lights are not set to accommodate the traffic from there. Vehicles are entering and exiting from one opening and disregarding traffic from the other 3 sides. I hope the action taken will not cause any injuries or lost of lives. Be careful and beware of the danger.
LATEST!! Looks like there are some stubborn people who persist to deprive others from using the road. Just got an sms from one of the ara damansara residents. A few lorry loads of stone were dumped at both end of the link.
Anyone in construction here? feel free to go there and collect free sands and stones
Admin..good one!
Is it possible to create an official voting system to decide to open the link???
OH MY GOD, THEY HAVE LOADED SANDS AND STONES TO BLOCK BOTH SIDE. GUYS OUR HARD WORK HAD GONE TO DRAIN NOW…LETS DO SOMETHING…
i know you all have waited really long but the persiaran tropicana is already too congested..you all will probably take longer than ur current road if u open the link.. i hope maybe they can reopen jalan tanjung together with this ara link. At least there will be some diversion..taking matters into your own hands will only cause more problems (:
very angry .. that road full of sands .. we are bullying by the big guy in tropicana :O
We have waited more than 2 years for this link! This link is not an ad-hoc development, it is already in the master plan so saying Persiaran is already congested and therefore this link should not be opened is craps! And don’t even think of hoping Datuk will open up his private thoroughfare to the public as he is a very patient man.
as for the injunction, I was told this time it is not from Tropicana.
ONE OF MY NEIGHBOUR IS TRYING TO LEVEL THE SANDS AND STONES IF YOU ARE NOW AT ARA PLS ASSIST HIM. HE IS ONE HANDED.
i understand that you all are really angry. stop saying that it is from Tropicana, we do not stoop so low.you people from Ara D. and D. Lagenda should sit back and think for a while. These traffic congestion are caused by the government simply permitting development without studying the access roads. why are we fighting and quarreling amongst each other? As Jeff said,We should really meet up and talk this over.
Spoke to Encik Sharil of MBPJ and was informed that the injunction was filed by Damansara Idaman Resident Associations against the developer TA First Credit on 30 Jun 2010. Have informed him of the latest development and he will speak to his superior on this matter. Will provide further updates if any.
How much does it cost to hire a truck to carry the sands of? I believe it is definitely cheaper for us to sell the sand than for them to buy sand and load it there
Poor thing, my neighbour is still pushing the sands and stones with few Ara residents now. A big thanks to him.
what is the update for the road now? can be used? me working now.. so cant help.. sorry guys… I really appreciate all of ur good job!!
I am going back now, try to help my neighbour.
wonderful! this is Ara Damasarian spirits! I will also go back early to lend a helping hand.
Reply to anonymousme (2:07pm comment)
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Actually the public was blissfully using the uncompleted link (credit to the contractor for opening the link) until some selfish man from the perceived “affected” residential area took matters into his own hands and dug up both end of the road to prevent the public from using the road.
Latest update. A good number of Ara damansara residents are clearing the blockage with the aid of a bulldozer!!!
Correct me if i’m wrong, but if this road is already gazetted in the master plan,then the residents in Damansara Idaman should be well aware of this road being opened for PUBLIC use at some point in time. If they aren’t aware when they bought their house then the fault lies with them. Anyw, can’t something be done with the injunction? Any lawyers in our community who can shed some light on this issue i.e. injunction until when and what does it encompasses? On what grounds was the injunction granted?? Doesn’t the developer i.e. TA First Credit has an obligation to complete this access road and hand it over to the council? If so, what rights have the Dsara Idaman RA have to seek an injunction to keep it closed???
@richiee
The Public? As it is still unknown to all the residents,probably 20 to 30 cars a day to and fro ? That isn’t the real traffic that is going to pass when the link opens.Persiaran Surian, Persiaran Tropicana and Lebuh Bandar Utama (At BU11/12) are really congested during the rush hour. That’s practically every exit from the area. It may be in the master plan but a plan does not necessarily mean for the better.You all have to understand what the problem is and not focus on your solution. You all are most probably up against a developer who has much material to place on the road. Until you all come to your senses and meet up with the RAs ,the problem would not only remain unsolved but get uglier. Have a nice day.
anonymousme, thanks for the sand, you guys should have do that before the gotong royong, it would have been easier job for us to cover the holes.
On a much lighter note.
I wonder if a particularly handsome Botox dentist would have something to say on all the sand that has been dumped on the road. Hope he doesn’t link it to the current MB
Any member from Dsara Idaman’s RA who feels strongly against the opening of this link? If yes, ur invited to voice yr grievances here. Anyw, MBPJ should conduct a traffic study on this road, before a final decision is made, which ultimately boils down to this road being fully operational and opened for the RAKYAT’s use in the 1st place…
A point to note. When a housing development is planned the access roads is one of the requirements to be completed before CF is issued. It would be interesting to find out if Idaman residents have CF for the completed houses or are the using a temporary CF. MBPJ should require the developer to complete the Ara link as a requirement for issuing the CF and to withhold further development in the area until all roads are completed. Surely TA First Credit is not building this road out of the goodness of its heart but is a MBPJ requirement.
Another point I want to bring up is that the delay in completing the link is affecting the prices of houses and rental in Ara Damansara. Cant we resident get together and sue the parties that have placed the injunction for losses due to lower valuation of our property as a result of poor access roads.
Reply to anonymousme
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1) Are you very sure that without the link residents from ara damansara area or the surrounding area are not already going into persiaran tropicana via taman mayang emas everyday?
2) Are you very sure that without the link there will be less traffic on persiaran tropicana?
@richiee
This is why we have been pushing for a traffic study! Wouldn’t you agree that a shortcut would promote more traffic? I don’t understand why cant u all meet for a talk.If you all dont want to do this the civilised way, i give up.
A traffic study has already been done and this is part of the mid term proposal, hence that’s why the Selangor MB, MBPJ, Ara Damansarians wanted it open. However if you’re implying that a traffic study once the link is open, the the link should be open first then conduct a traffic study. Otherwise how else an evaluation can be done? But if you’re talkin about a traffic study on the current situation then yes, i repeat myself again it HAS BEEN DONE: Refer below:
Need to conduct traffic study proposal – July 2008
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/7/21/central/21832446&sec=central
Traffic study proposal: Medium-term proposals•Construction of missing link along Jalan PJU1A/1 to connect Ara Damansara and Tropicana – Feb 2009
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/2/27/central/3289907&sec=central
But then again one could question the feasibility and realibility of the traffic study done in Bolehland. Good example is the conversion Taman Megah Mas tunnel to one way. So based on the track record of their supposed traffic study, the outcome could be a disaster for all involved (AD, Tropicana, Idaman etc)
we are very practical people. we can always talk but have you seen anything out of the talks on Jalan Tanjung? As I have said, we have waited for more than 2 yrs, how long more are we expected to wait? another 2+ years? to talk talk talk and then wait wait wait for the outcome of the traffic study if there is one?
Good thing that MBPJ has asked TA to stop blocking the road. And also a police report has been made. So if anybody decides to dig a trench or block it with sand/stones or boulders, beware, as you may be going against the law. Have spoken to some policemen around our area and they will do more regular patrol along the link.
Found a new talent in levelling roads yesterday. Body and arms all aching but it was worth the effort. Cheers fellow Ara Damansarians.
@ngyy
We want a traffic study to be done for year 2010.2008-2009′s traffic study cannot be used for 2010 as there has been much developement and occupation.Furthermore, Dijaya is building
Tropicana Avenue (3 BLOCKS of 9 to 11-storey shop + office suites)
&
Tropicana Grande (4 BLOCKS of 40-STOREY luxurious condo) along PERSIARAN TROPICANA.
It is already too much for the existing road if u ask me.One can only imagine the thousands of cars alone from the ara area using this link to avoid the toll and the jam it’ll cause.
Agree. That’s why there’s a long term proposal there with elevated ramps connectivity for both AD and Tropicana. Not sure if they have taken into consideration these development (not to forget Oasis) but my guess if they would to do one..the long term solution would still be the same unless public transportation comes into picture. But correct me if i’m wrong..shouldnt major developments conduct this study prior to approval? So this link is a mid term solution and when all developments are completed…yes agree even the link wont suffice..hence the long term solution. But i’ve heard its gonna cost but i hope all developers chip in for the betterment of us all. Speakin of which….why is Sime so quiet on this issue?
@ngyy
. Our only hope is to protest? They’ve already started building Tropicana Grande tho..
Thats why, i am sure ara people are unaware of these future developments.Public transport? i think i’ve heard of some proposals of LRT/monorail but this problem would come way before they lay the foundation for the stations.Sadly,Developers run after they have completely developed the land.They care more about their profits than integrity/image.We’re talking about Dijaya here, money talks