Shukri: Residents want the government to acquire the road

They say if the developer is allowed to close the road, some 20,000 people in the area will be forced to drive an extra four kilometres to access the area — a circumvention that may take up to an hour, which now takes just 15 minutes.

The closure to take place on a 800sq-m plot of land at the traffic junction exiting to Lebuh Bandar Utama will also render some 1.5km of State-owned road useless, they say.

Land owner Bandar Utama City Corporation Sdn Bhd (BUCC) has told residents the exit/ entrance would be converted to a one-way exit from Nov 20 and would be closed six months after that.

Residents from 19 associations and groups in Zone 4, including those from Kota Damansara and Sunway Damansara, have formed an action group against the closure.

ATTENTION ALL: The notice on the Jalan Tanjung Bandar Utama being turned into a one way street

“We are hoping to meet with the PJ mayor to learn the council’s stand on this issue. Our call is for the government to acquire this road in the rakyat’s interest to solve this worrying situation,” he said, adding that a signature campaign has been started on a memorandum to be sent to PJ mayor Mohamad Roslan Sakiman and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Shukri said the Land Acquisition Act 1960 allows the State authority to purchase land for public  purposes.

“We were told by BUCC director Datuk Teo Chiang Kok that the closure is to reduce traffic congestion in Bandar Utama. But, it will cause massive traffic jams on the alternative road in and out of this area and affect a lot of people.”

PJ city traffic consultant Goh Bok Yen has reportedly admitted to this problem and had suggested the land acquisition but no decision has been made so far.

It is understood that a 1993 agreement between BUCC and Dijaya Corporation Bhd, the developer for Tropicana, provides for the piece of land to be taken back after Dijaya completes a tunnel link.