JOHOR BARU: An integrated traffic management is critically needed in Johor's capital city to cope with its raising road users, including at its Singapore land-border entry-points.
In achieving this, several long, medium and short-term solutions were proposed and discussed during a meeting between the state government delegation led by Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi and Transport Minister Anthony Loke in Putrajaya today.
It was held to discuss a comprehensive and coordinated approach to manage traffic and transportation systems within the region among others.
Onn Hafiz said the traffic integration management required various technologies, strategies; and measures to optimise the efficiency and effectiveness of the transportation network in the state.
The delegates' key proposals were to establish a task force consisting of state and federal representatives to discuss traffic distribution plans in Johor.
Onn Hafiz said there is a critical need to increase the frequency and number of busses including MyBAS service routes, while the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) existing rail tracks should be utilised to establish and accommodate commuter services.
Thorough studies on the integration of the Gemas-Johor Baru Electric Double Track should be conducted, to analyse the possibility of incorporating the railway lines into a boarder transportation network system.
The delegation also proposed that the ministry established an Automated Transit Flow System (ART) or construct a Light Rail Transit (LRT) transport line, with feeder busses service to facilitate access to stations.
He said with the formation of the taskforce, a comprehensive master plan for traffic management and distribution in Johor Baru would need to be formulated, which included plans to widen existing main roads.
"Widening the main roads should be a priority and implemented in the near future, when the state's two major projects, namely the Johor Baru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, and the Gemas-Johor Baru Electric Double Track projects are completed, as there will be alternative travel-modes to avoid congestion during construction period," he said.
He said with the rising Singapore dollars against the ringgit, the number of visitors entering the country via the Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine (CIQ) Complexes at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar (BSI)and Bangunan Sultan Abu Bakar (KSAB) from the republic had increase rapidly, recording more 5.2 million visitors since the beginning on this year.
The state government delegates included State Public Works, Transport, and Infrastructure Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) chief executive Datuk Dr Badrul Hisham Kassim, IRDA federal commissioner Nor Hisham Mohd Yusof and State Land and Mines Office director Datuk Ashaari Kasnan.