THE Penang Government is looking into strict measures like banning roadside parking and appointing traffic wardens to tackle traffic woes in the state.State Local Government, Traffic Management and Environment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said more stringent enforcement was needed on roads, especially those where motorists conti-nued to park their vehicles illegally.

“Roads are designed to cater for certain amounts of traffic. If vehicles are parked illegally on one or two lanes, traffic cannot be dispersed.

“Take for instance Burmah Road which is the main artery out of George Town. When cars are parked illegally on both sides of the road, we lose two lanes – causing some 1,000 to 2,000 vehicles to disperse hourly instead of 5,000,” he said.

Chow said the state’s proposal for the ban should not affect businesses but instead cultivate a ‘walking culture’ among Penangites.

“The public should be ready to give up their usual convenience and get used to parking a little further from their destination and walk,” he said yesterday.

The state, he said, would look into creating more alternative parking lots using state, municipal or private-owned land although he admitted that this would be challenging due to the space constraint.

“We will have to be more creative and work within our constraint,” he said.

The appointment of traffic wardens might also be a challenge although the matter had been tabled at several state executive coun- cillor meetings for the past few weeks.

Chow said according to the Road Transport Act (1987), municipal councils were not empowered to make such appointments, unlike city councils where their mayors had the power to appoint traffic wardens.

“Traffic wardens under city councils can clamp cars parked illegally and tow those obstructing traffic.

“We have learnt of some municipal councils that authorised clampings of vehicles. Among them is the Seberang Prai Municipal Council.

“They may be oblivious to the Act. But we want to see if it is possible for us to implement such drastic measures to deter errant motorists and solve traffic problems,” he said.

Chow said traffic wardens would have the power to assist traffic police and cover wider areas unlike municipal council enforcement officers, who were limited to certain areas only.

“The traffic wardens will also help educate motorists to obey traffic regulations,” he said.

Source: The Star, Tuesday February 10, 2009
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/2/10/north/3227728&sec=north