PENANG: Massive infrastructure projects would not resolve Penang's long-term public transport problems, which are currently crippling the state, said the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP).

Its legal adviser and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) secretary Meenakshi Raman said the only thing Penangites needed was a proper public transport system, which she noted would be more realistic than spending billions on mega projects.

She was commenting on the government's plans under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to set up a monorail system, build a second bridge and the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) in the state to reduce traffic congestion.

She felt the claim that the PORR was a reward for Penangites was an insult to those who had campaigned against the project.

"NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in Penang have over the years protested against this and have shown proof that the PORR will be a horrendous nightmare as it will cause more social problems and greatly impact the environment.

"It will definitely not reduce urban congestion as the government claims," she said.

She added that both CAP and SAM had previously given feedback to the government on the second bridge, which they said would exacerbate the already bad traffic congestion with more vehicles coming into the island.

She said CAP and SAM had proposed a rail link instead of a bridge, which would move people and not cars into the island - currently, most vehicles entering the island have single occupancy.

Meena also said there was no urgent need to introduce the monorail system in Penang, which would be very costly. She said there were better alternatives, such as improving the existing public bus system.

"This is what the Citizens For Public Transport (Cepat) has been asking for all these months. All we want is for the bus transport system to be improved, and despite the assurances, we don't see this happening in the near future," she added.

Source: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=13645