KUCHING: Kota Samarahan must be well connected to Kuching City by roads and light rail transit (LRT), says Kota Samarahan Municipal Council chairman Datuk Peter Minos.
He said if small towns like Kajang and Klang are well connected to Kuala Lumpur by roads and LRT, Kota Samarahan likewise must also be well connected to Kuching City as both have a concentrated population and connected businesses.
He said it is for this reason that the council, during its second anniversary dinner recently, had called on the Sarawak government to revisit the LRT idea.
“If possible, and if funding is there, the LRT should materialise in the not too distant future.
“In the meantime, traffic lights must be installed at critical roundabouts in Kota Samarahan, especially those that cause snail-paced traffic and jams during peak hours.
“That the chief minister has promised to help with the traffic lights and re-looking into the LRT idea, this is very much appreciated,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Minos believed that the long-suffering Kota Samarahan motorists and the general public are jubilant with the news.
He said if traffic and communication problems in Kota Samarahan were not attended to, such problems would sooner or later have adverse effects on the development, investment and businesses in the fast-growing and rapidly-developing Kota Samarahan.
He said people would not want to live and do business in an area choked with traffic jams.
“As a local government body, KSMC is naturally concerned with the traffic woes faced by the local people, and thus, is trying its best to help out.
“No way is the council unconcerned with or closing an eye over the problem. It must do its part and carry out its duty together with other government agencies to make things happen,” he said.
He believed more development would come up in Kota Samarahan, including the proposed integrated regional Samarahan authority (IRSDA), but the traffic problem must be solved fast.