8/12/2019 On Roads

1/3

Unpacking the Kidex Controversy

The recent controversy surrounding plans to build an elevated expressway through PJ has brought our

attention to the issue of transportation, notably highways and our city's utter dependence on them. One of

the most disagreeable aspects of the city is how our lifestyles are largely determined by our reliance on

cars to get around. As much as we love our city, the experience walking around downtown is unpleasant ifnot harrowing. Frangipanis lining the street are no match for the smell of exhaust at street level, walking is

a constant obstacle course where if you're lucky you might get the chance to out-manouver a sinkhole, cars

whizzing by pose a constant life or death threat, cursing out pedestrians when they should be the ones

slowing down.

In the book by Charles Montgomery, The Happy City, he describes how driving is detrimental for brain and

body. The stress that one encounters in bad traffic triggers a toxic stew of stress hormones that in the

short term make you more alert, but in the long term can make you ill. According to the Montgomery, it

takes at least 1 hour post driving for stress levels to return to normal where our ability to concentrate and

heart rate is restored. The stress levels of a long commute during peak hours exceeds that of fighter pilots

and riot police facing angry mobs. The longer one travels, the more detrimental it is as well. Researchers

found that the ideal commute is a 16 minute drive in one direction. Beyond that, satisfaction drops

significantly, and the further one has to travel to work daily the less happy they are.

So back to this expressway that has caused many an angry uncle to vent, and politicians to bristle at the

thought that they may actually have to mediate an issue face to face with an upset, name calling

constituency. Perhaps it is a moot the point to say that we should protest KIDEX because we should

protest highways. KIDEX would have been built right under our noses had it not been for these public

protests, and KIDEX was singled out because it cuts through the well established township of Petaling

Jaya, directly affecting the lives of residents there.

Even so, protests against the construction of an urban expressway for whatever reason is a good thing.

Such a controversy is a jumping off point to initiate a conversation about the state of transportation in ourcity. Fact is, increasing private car ownership and the endless construction of highways within a city is bad

for livability and quality of life much less the environment. This is where the KIDEX debates can help - to

shed some light on the issue of urban traffic congestion. The KIDEX controversy and the claims made for

and against its construction allow us to understand the kinds of assumptions used to justify why our city

needs more highways and creates a space for a critical evaluation of these assumptions and the

consequences they have on our built environment.

Indeed, the basic premise used for most road expansion projects, KIDEX included, is that increasing

vehicle ownership will require more roads to ease congestion. This very basic claim from which all other

justif ications precede is however, largely self fulfilling in that it takes for granted the current pattern of

vehicle ownership and uses future projections based on current growth rates as the justification for buildingmore expressways.This line of thinking precludes the expansion and use of alternative means of

transportation, and takes private vehicular travel as a constant, continuing trend.

While KIDEXs Traffic Impact Assessment and claims that KIDEX will effectively ease traffic congestion

on existing highways has been challenged for their statistical accuracy, the crux of the issue here is greater

than pointing out errors of calculation. The real issue that we should be concerned about is the much more

8/12/2019 On Roads

2/3

complex and somewhat quixotic problem of how we can restructure the way we move about in the city in a

more humane, sustainable and climate friendly way.

Studies have shown time and again that more roads do not ease congestion. The lack of attention to this

fact, or rather, a convenient ignoring of it, has perhaps put us on the path of such short sighted, remedial

solutions as building more expressways, setting us on a vicious cycle with no end in sight. Furthermore,

not only do these highways mar the landscape of the city, often times, they cut through existing green

space, destroying all that is pleasant and uplifting about our city.

Expressways such as SKIP and KIDEX may benefit some people with a faster commute, but they

contribute to the worsening of our quality of life as a whole over the long term. Looked at in this way, we are

spending an exorbitant amount of money (RM 2.4 - RM 3.4 billion) for little gain and are further

disenfranchising lower income groups by neglecting our inefficient and disconnected public transportation

network.

It is unfair to many that transportation developments in KL is so heavily skewed towards privileging the

private car owner and this has to end if we are to have a more just and sustainable future. While the jury is

still out as to how much public transportation system can ease traffic congestion, a robust public

transportation system provides options for people to get from Point A to Point B, and places more

pedestrians on the streets. It enhances connectivity within a city for those who may not be able to afford or

do not desire owning a car. Furthermore, an efficient public transportation system slows the rate of growth

of car ownership over the long term as people need not depend on a car to get around. Congestion woes

aside, fewer cars is good for the environment.

Our dependence on cars as the primary mode of transportation has decimated our public street life, which

can only happen when we slow down by having a multi-modal transportation system that puts people back

on the streets. Pedestrians, and by extension individuals who take public transportation, are the lowest

common denominator on the streets of KL and this is a huge blow to our sense of place and community.

Perhaps this is what needs to change if we are to talk about a #BetterKL. One cannot begin to imagine thepositive changes that could be catalysed with that RM 2.4 billion KIDEX is slated to cost should it be used

towards realising alternative ways of getting around in our city beyond that of the privately owned car.

Click here to hear from our #BetterCities intern Yap Lay Sheng on his experiences living carless in KL city.

Here are some links to articles about the KIDEX plan:

http://www.malaysiandigest.com/opinion/505367-kidex-the-facts-before-you-decide.html

http://www.thenutgraph.com/kidex-and-the-law-what-the-governments-not-telling-you/

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2011/10/only-hope-reducing-traffic/315/

http://www.nber.org/papers/w15376.

http://www.citylab.com/commute/2013/04/public-transportation-does-relieve-traffic-congestion-just-not-every

where/5149/

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.citylab.com%2Fcommute%2F2013%2F04%2Fpublic-transportation-does-relieve-traffic-congestion-just-not-everywhere%2F5149%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHBDpJDqv5UMepqZytzkcl-bI1zOghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.citylab.com%2Fcommute%2F2013%2F04%2Fpublic-transportation-does-relieve-traffic-congestion-just-not-everywhere%2F5149%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHBDpJDqv5UMepqZytzkcl-bI1zOghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nber.org%2Fpapers%2Fw15376&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF-OQBFFePis-tElU4nfz2UAObaYwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.citylab.com%2Fcommute%2F2011%2F10%2Fonly-hope-reducing-traffic%2F315%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFpfDPfLNphm5aW4r2-C3YLKZOtJAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenutgraph.com%2Fkidex-and-the-law-what-the-governments-not-telling-you%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEMcwUhATFvk3nh4TqBTqPkGX4rWghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.malaysiandigest.com%2Fopinion%2F505367-kidex-the-facts-before-you-decide.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG0kWdVXEuTBo5NSuK91gYpltb-iw

8/12/2019 On Roads

3/3