Is RM4 bil DASH highway the opportunity cost of good public transport?

Say No to DASH (SNTD) pressure group now faces opposition from a group called Say Yes to DASH, which comprises residents from Shah Alam and is supported by the project proponent of DASH-Prolintas.

The new group has sent a memorandum to the Selangor government listing out the reasons DASH is needed.

SNTD said it empathised with Shah Alam and Puncak Alam residents in Selangor concerned about traffic congestion along Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari, which is the sole link to three highways: Guthrie, Elite and the NKVE.

In a statement, SNTD said that it had no objections whatsoever to the construction of the Damansara-Shah Alam (DASH) elevated expressway in Shah Alam, because SNTD only opposes its construction through Damansara Perdana.

“However, the controversial DASH issue is actually not about majority or minority resident groups but about the government making the right decision.

“The Damansara segment of DASH cannot be built in the highly dense and populated Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara neighbourhoods,” SNTD said.

The group said that the DASH Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) had failed to take into account the growth and development of the area since original studies were carried out, adding that the TIA did not address real traffic issues faced by Shah Alam residents, who mainly complain about the traffic congestion on Persiaran Moktar Dahari because they have no access to public transport. However, the DASH TIA makes no mention of mitigating the traffic situation for these residents.

“In fact, comments made by Shah Alam residents are evidence that highways are actually not a viable long-term solution, considering they already have access to Guthrie, Elite and NKVE but they do not seem to solve their traffic congestion problems.

“A much broader and more sustainable solution, aside from highways, is required to continuously ease local traffic congestion caused by bottlenecks.

“If there is anything to learn from the existing highways, DASH will suffer the same fate once past the projected [traffic] capacity because the TIA merely serves as a short-term solution,” the SNTD said.

It added the concerns of Shah Alam residents would only be addressed by ensuring that they and the residents of Puncak Alam had access to public transport, unlike Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana which will be linked to the MRT and LRT.

“We are all for development but when such glaring discrepancies are found in studies to construct multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects and safety are ignored by lawmakers, the public loses faith in them.

“This is about making the right decisions that do not compromise by sacrificing and pitting one group of residents against another, or bulldozing high-risk elevated highways through dense townships that do not add to good town planning.

“It is the people who bear the consequences of bad government decisions. Building a highway next to homes sets a dangerous precedent.

“As members of the public, we trust the elected government will not putting our environment and safety in the line of fire. To put this matter to rest permanently, we require Menteri Besar Azmin Ali and the Selangor exco to make a final decision on the issue that has been haunting residents here for three-and-a-half years.

“Build DASH if you must, but build it away from homes and developed townships that do not need it.”

The Malaysian Insider previously reported that the Selangor government had agreed to include (DASH) elevated expressway alignment into the Petaling Jaya City Plan 2 (RTPG 2).


The state government response

Petaling Jaya mayor Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain had said that the inclusion of DASH was concluded at the Selangor exco meeting on May 13.

“We suggested omitting the DASH project from the RTPG 2 during our full board meeting on April 24.

“However, the state government has agreed to include parts of the alignment that is not subject to any protest from residents,” he had said.

Azizi said that the state government had instructed the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) and Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to hold a public hearing on the highway.

“We will be calling the residents for a public hearing. We will listen to their grouses then present our feedback to the state government,” he had said.

Azizi said that the issue is expected to be resolved by the end of the year.

“Once we have gathered the feedback then we will present our report to the Selangor State Planning Committee for approval,” he said.

DASH, costing about RM4 billion, will be a 20.1km, three-lane expressway. The areas along the proposed route for DASH are Shah Alam's Puncak Perdana U10, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana.

It will then link users to the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Sprint highways.

The expressway will also serve motorists from Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Jalan Sungai Buloh, the Rubber Research Institute Malaysia, Kota Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara.