SHAH ALAM, July 7 — A zebra crossing will be constructed in Section 8, Kota Damansara, within the next month to improve the safety of pedestrians crossing Jalan Sungai Buloh to access the Kwasa Damansara Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station.
The temporary facility will be provided in response to complaints about a discontinuous pedestrian walkway in the area.
Kota Damansara state assemblyman Muhammad Izuan Ahmad Kasim said the measure would serve as an interim solution while awaiting the implementation of the Jalan Sungai Buloh widening project, which also includes the construction of a new pedestrian walkway.
“Many residents in Section 8 walk to the Kwasa Damansara MRT station to use public transport. The main issue is that the pedestrian walkway in the area ends before reaching the station.
“As a short-term solution, we will build a zebra crossing so that the public can cross the road more safely. I have already requested the Public Works Department to issue a work order to the contractor and, InsyaAllah (God willing), it should be completed within about a month,” he told Media Selangor.
Izuan added that it is not feasible to construct a permanent pedestrian walkway at present, as the area will be affected by the Jalan Sungai Buloh widening project.
“If we build the pedestrian walkway now, it will have to be demolished once the road widening works begin. That would only result in unnecessary waste.
“So, we are taking an interim approach by providing a zebra crossing first. When the road widening project is implemented, the pedestrian walkway and other related facilities will be built at the same time,” he said.
Izuan noted that the issue had been delayed for a long time due to the need to complete the relocation of nursery operators occupying government land before the Jalan Sungai Buloh widening project could proceed.
“The road widening project and utility relocation works should have been carried out about five years ago, but they were delayed,” he said.
The state government has set the end of August as the deadline for vacating the site. However, legal action filed by some nursery operators regarding their relocation has complicated the implementation of the project.
“InsyaAllah, if there are no obstacles arising from the court proceedings, the Jalan Sungai Buloh widening project will be able to commence by the end of this year,” Izuan said.
Earlier, the state government granted a further extension until the end of August to 38 nursery operators along Jalan Sungai Buloh before work on the road widening project in Kwasa Damansara begins.
