Thumbs Down
By Mei Kuan
For as long as the residents along Lebuh Taman Ipoh in Ipoh Garden South can remember, there have always been vehicles of non-residents parked not only illegally but haphazardly on both sides of the roads, taking up the space of the two-way lane which has no designated parking spaces. The upgrading works for the sewerage system together with its plastic safety barriers further worsen the traffic.
The line of illegally parked vehicles extends to the residential areas too as motorists park right outside the homes to go mostly to the nearby health facilities and government agencies, while some to the banks and shops on the other side. The residential area streets brimming with vehicles include Tingkat Taman Ipoh 1, Tingkat Taman Ipoh 2, Tingkat Taman Ipoh 3, Tingkat Taman Ipoh 4 and Tingkat Taman Ipoh 5.
During a recent visit to the site, some residents were spotted putting flower pots right in front of their homes to prevent cars from blocking their gate and driveway access. Two food trucks were found operating on the curb at the busy junction.
A 72-year-old resident who has been living along Tingkat Taman Ipoh 5 for over 20 years expressed, “It’s a nightmare to drive on the road whenever I return home or leave home to run daily errands. This is because any time a vehicle comes in the opposing directions, one of us has to reverse all the way back to the junction because the two-way road has been made narrow. It gets worse when there is a line of motorists waiting right behind you which makes it impossible to reverse thus all are stuck. Imagine going through this five times a week!”
A 24-year-old resident with a probationary driving license who lives along the same road with her parents shared, “I’d rather take a longer route when making a turn out of the neighbourhood onto the main road for a less stressful drive. Some inconsiderate motorists are not just parked illegally, they have either their car boot or bonnet protruding onto the road. It may prevent the emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire engines from passing.”
“I only got to see a clear road during the MCO period when almost all ceased their operations while the public remained indoors,” she added.
The same concern has been highlighted by other major dailies as well, yet so far, the situation has not seen any visible improvement. When will it all end?
