The people of Penang should question if there is any justification for the proposed 6.5km Gurney Drive-Bagan Ajam undersea tunnel project, said an Australian town planner.
“Why do you need it? What is the implication and who is it going to affect?” asked Dr Peter R. Jensen, who arrived here yesterday to speak at a forum organised by the Penang Citizens Awareness Chant Group (Chant) tomorrow.
The Johor-born Dr Jensen, 72, who is also managing director of Hyparcons Pty Ltd which is a professional consultancy firm in Australia, will focus on issues concerning re-development and heritage at the forum. “I will also be studying the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP),” he told reporters.
The forum themed “Is the undersea tunnel environmentally sustainable and Gurney Drive enclave livable?” will be held at 8pm at E&O Hotel here.
Hyparcons provides services in disputes over development, land use planning, site appraisal and opportunities, land use controls and analysis, among others.
Dr Jensen said he only came to know of the proposed Penang undersea tunnel about 10 days ago, adding that “I am catching up with the progress of Penang since my last visit 40 years ago.”
Currently involved in urban designing and architecture in Australia, Dr Jensen has just finished writing a book which is scheduled to be published in June.
The undersea tunnel is one of the four infrastructure projects announced by the state government.
The RM6.3bil mega package consists of the 6.5km Gurney Drive-Bagan Ajam undersea tunnel, the 4.2km Gurney Drive-Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Bypass, the 4.6km Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu-Bandar Baru Air Itam Bypass and a 12km Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road. - By The Star
7 comments
i need it...is jam every day Dr Jensen (age 72)!!
Queenie,
Second link is coming up in a few months time. Bridge jam would be a thing of the past soon.
We dont need second link.We need to start with ourselves,try not to use cars.Use the public transport.More cars,more polution.Second link may not necessary solve the trafic,as there are just too many cars.
A brilliant proposal from CM of Penang.Don't be so sure the second link won't be jam in future.Who can guarantee ten years from now?Don't forget most Malaysians love driving cars and lazy to use public transport.My own survey told me majority of people I asked are happy and proud of the sea-tunnel.Go for it!
Hi john,
2nd link will surely jam in the future, as long as we encourage car travelling culture by building more and more roads.
In other words, we should not try to solve traffic problem by building more roads, but instead should make car travelling extremely inconvenient, and in the meantime provide an alternative of public transport. That way, we can take cars of the road and reduce traffic jam without even having to build more roads.
Reducing cars on the road means reducing air pollution. Penang island is small. We can't keep cutting down trees for development, keep adding on cars on the road.
With 2nd pg bridge, should be enough for next 10-15 years.
Tunnel only required after 15 years. CM LGE need to do flyover in greenland & farlim to reduce jam
I think improving on Public Transport should help a lot. I wish for LRT in Penang... *pray *pray *pray