Too much or too few expressways in Penang?

Jalan Air Itam: not an expressway, but forced to do the job of one (9 September 2011)


The following article is written in response to a comment appearing the the Penang Forum blog.


Does Penang have too much or too little expressway? People who oppose the construction of expressways often say, "Studies show that more roads will lead to more congestion". That is an example of observational data used to show correlation equals causation.

But the fact is, observational data cannot be used to show that correlation equals causation.

Just because we see more roads being built, and later on we see more congestion, we cannot conclude that the road caused congestion. Other factors are involved. What we have to determine is what actually causes the congestion. The statement "building more roads will lead to more congestion" cannot be applied with equal strength to any city anywhere. Is the person talking about Taiping, Tokyo, Timbuktu or Taman Negara? If building more roads leads to more congestion, that means if we were to loop a few expressways around Taman Negara, cars will magically appear to create congestion in the jungle, right? If not, then the argument that "more roads leads to more congestion" is flawed.

The second thing to note is, "how much road is too much road?" If we can agree that, "At this point, we have too much road, before that, we have too little," then there is point of reference that is measurable.

Do we have an expressway connecting George Town to Teluk Bahang? No. Teluk Bahang to Gertak Sanggul? No. Gertak Sanggul to Batu Maung? No. How about from Air Itam to George Town, Teluk Bahang, Gertak Sanggul or Batu Maung? No, no, no, no. How many expressways do we have on Penang Island anyway? One. Is one too many?

Let's do the math.

PENANG ISLAND
Total land area: 293 square kilometers
Total length of its expressways: 9.8 km*
Number of expressways: 1 (Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway)
Every kilometer of expressway has to serve 29.9 square kilometer of land area

* Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway from Cecil Street Ghaut Intersection to Queensbay Interchange. (That's the only section we can consider as expressway with grade-separated interchanges).

SINGAPORE
Total land area: 710 square kilometer
Total length of its expressways: 150 km
Number of expressways: 8 (Ayer Rajah Expressway, Bukit Timah Expressway, Central Expressway, East Coast Parkway, Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway, Marina Coastal Expressway, North-South Expressway, Pan-Island Expressway, Seletar Expressway, Tampines Expressway) Every kilometer of expressway has to serve only 4.7 square kilometer of land area FOUR POINT SEVEN!!
Source: Transport in Singapore (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_Singapore)

You can use the expressway to travel from one end of Singapore to the other, from east to west, from north to south. In Penang you can only travel on expressway from Cecil Street Ghaut intersection to Queensbay interchange.



Pan Island Expressway, Singapore
Author: © Sengkang


There are SIX TIMES more expressways in Singapore than on Penang Island. A kilometer of expressway on Penang Island has to do six times the work of a kilometer in Singapore, and you say that's too much expressway on Penang Island? So before anybody can claim that Penang Island has too many expressways, you have to first determine how much is too much. As the numbers show, we don't have enough.

If building expressways is such a bad thing, it would have gone out of fashion in Singapore. Ditto Shanghai and Seoul. But the fact remains that a city, at a stage when it is developing rapidly, needs expressways to support its vibrant economic development.

I hate having to repeat myself, but it appears I have to. As Penang continues to grow, I would expect it to attract not only investors, but also workers from other cities. It's the same happening in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. People go where their skills are employable. They won't come here if there's no work for them. Rather than fearing incomers for increasing the population density of Penang, we should make plans to accommodate more people, open up new townships in Seberang Perai, and building expressways to ensure people can move quickly from home to office.

Different states have different needs and capabilities. If one square foot of Penang land offers better yield for industry than for agriculture, we should use it for industry, and let our neighbouring states remain agricultural. Don't hinder our potential.

To be able to grow is a very good thing. It's a good fortune that bypasses many other towns and cities in Malaysia. If you compare Penang to so many other Malaysian cities, you will find that house prices there hardly ever increase. Those who see the glass as half empty will say that development causes everything to be more expensive. But the optimists see all the benefits and improvement in the quality of life.

Singapore shows us that it is possible to have a good quality of life even in a densely populated area. But it doesn't have to be so. There are many Third World cities with high population density but poor quality of life. The quality of our lives improves when we are willing to embrace public infrastructure to support our growth.

We must preserve our competitive edge. If we apply brakes on building expressways, we will just allow neighbouring cities such as Phuket and Medan to zip past us. Again, although Singapore has an excellent bus network and an MRT, it still continues to build expressways. To the question of "don't we need to find more land to build more roads infinitely?" The answer is, if we don't build expressways soon, we will indeed choke ourselves. Our congestion can be attributed to many factors, but not to an overabundance of expressways. If we already have two or three looped around the island, a few connecting Air Itam to George Town, Batu Maung, Teluk Bahang, etc., then yes, I would say we should reconsider building another. But right now, the answer is none, none, none.

Going to your next comment, you use the term "MEGA-projects". When Shanghai needs bridges, when Hong Kong needs expressway: they don't call them mega projects, they call them NECESSITIES. Or Investments with good returns.

As to your question, "What kind of development to northern Seberang Perai? Housing constructions? Turn the agricultural lands to manufacturing? Will the people share the benefit? Is this [what] people want?"

On the "is this [what] people want" question, I would recommend that you visit Perai, Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Jaya, Bukit Tengah and Bukit Minyak. Ask the folks living there whether the Penang Bridge is a good idea. Did it bring more good or bad? How many will say, "The Penang Bridge, what calamity! Please, please dismantle it immediately! It's not what I want!"

If you can get the majority of the people in the aforementioned townships to call for the removal of the Penang Bridge, then I would agree that a link is not what the people in northern Seberang Perai want.

If you live in Bagan Ajam or Kepala Batas, and you look forward to the news that the state government will build a link that will reduce your travel time to George Town, you would be very upset with those opposing the proposal. And if the naysayers get their way, you won't get to see a link within this lifetime.

I am born in Penang, I live in Penang, and I I love Penang with all my heart. I want to see my brothers and sisters in all parts of Penang State enjoy the fruits of its development. Though some may fear the unknown brought by development, the majority sees tremendous improvement to the quality of their lives due to development.

My vision for Penang is a progressive state that is not afraid to embark on state-of-the-art projects that preserves our attractiveness and competitiveness. I have a clear vision of better things to come with the construction of the undersea tunnels and the expressways. And even more expressways planned for the future.

The incumbent Chief Minister has planned an undersea tunnel and a few expressways for my home state, and that gets me pretty excited. Anybody wanting the Chief Minister's seat has to OUTDO him instead of opposing his proposal. If the challenger is one who sees the glass as half empty, he is not my candidate. Instead, if the incumbent Chief Minister gives me one kilometer of expressway, I expect the challenger to propose two. When the time comes to elect, I am not votiing for a PERSON or a PARTY. As P is for PENANG, I'm voting for PROGRESS!

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