GEORGE TOWN: There will be no end to Penang’s traffic problems if the state government presses on with its current transport master plan (PTMP), transport scholar Roger Teoh said.

Teoh said the “building more roads approach” taken by the PTMP would be useless in the long run, as many studies, he claimed, had shown how bad it could be.

Teoh told FMT Penang officials were using weak arguments to counter his concerns, which were backed with numbers.

“I wouldn’t have resigned (as a DAP member) if Penang was able to provide clear quantitative evidence and case studies to back up their plan.

“Sadly, the points raised in support of the PTMP, as seen in all official replies from city councillor Chris Lee, are spins with points not backed by evidence and successful case studies.

“Should a party member continue to stay silent over a plan that will clearly fail in the future?” Teoh asked.

Teoh resigned from the DAP following what he claimed was the lack of a check-and-balance system in the implementation of the PTMP. Teoh, who has been vocal against the PTMP, said his departure was also because the Penang government had refused to listen to his arguments.

Yesterday, councillor Lee chided Teoh for being naive and expecting the Penang government to obey whatever he had proposed.

Lee went on to say Teoh’s comments were based on theories and that he was not aware of the inner workings of government.

Lee had also said the federal government controlled transportation and car ownership.

Agreeing with the latter point, Teoh said the onus was on the Penang government to come up with ways to reduce car use by building public transport.

“A city can have a high number of car ownership per capita and at the same time achieve high public transport modal share.

“For example, European cities such as Munich and Vienna have high car ownership of over 500 cars per 1000 people, but still manage to achieve over 60% of public transport modal share.

“Why? This is because there is good public transport. The main point here is to provide a truly viable automobile alternative with comparable door-to-door speeds between different modes” he said.

Teoh is on a scholarship funded by the Imperial College in London, completing his PhD in Transport Studies there.

The multibillion PTMP is to alleviate traffic by building a series of highways, train lines and other infrastructure.

It will be funded by the creation of three man-made islands off Permatang Damar Laut, the southernmost part of of Penang Island.

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Tags: traffic, public transport, transport, transportation, Roger Teoh, DAP, Penang, Chris Lee