KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 — Pedestrians wanting to cross Jalan Sultan Ismail on the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix weekend will have to fork out RM1.20 to do so.

This is because the only way to get to the other side of the road will be by paying the minimum fare to the next station at the Bukit Nanas Monorail station which straddles the busy artery.

To date, staff at the station have not received instructions to exempt pedestrians wanting just to cross the road.

Malay Mail reporter Vanessa Ee-Lyn Gomes and photographer Ahmad Zamzahuri yesterday found that city folk who now only have to take 50 steps to cross the road, will be saddled with an unnecessary cost come Aug 7.

A counter staff at the station said the only way to enter the station during the race was by buying a ticket even if pedestrians said they could not use the gazetted crossing below.

“The cheapest alternative would be to enter the station by buying an RM1.20 ticket to the next station and then getting down the stairs to the other side of the road,” she said.

The staff member said her supervisor had not said anything about the problem that may arise on the race weekend.

“I am not entirely sure how things are supposed to work on that day but I understand the situation,” she said.

The current pedestrian crossing is not the safest either.

With the barricades in place, pedestrians have been forced onto the road as there is no immediate access to the pedestrian crossing.

The warning for pedestrians on the traffic lights is also not working, leaving many, especially tourists, in the dark about when to cross.

Pedestrians are forced to walk along the road, right next to traffic, after crossing Jalan Ampang. — Picture by Ahmad Zamzahuri

Drivers and pedestrians in tight spot

Navigating through the city centre yesterday, with preparations for the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix from Aug 7 to 9 under way, was a scary and dangerous experience for both drivers and pedestrians.

Photographer Ahmad Zamzahuri and I drove around the 3.2km route designated for the race between 11.30am and 1pm and found people dashing across roads or being sandwiched between traffic and steel barriers erected for the race. 

Drivers were also forced to slow down so as not to knock into pedestrians.

It was difficult for pedestrians to cross the road as most pedestrian crossings had been blocked off and people had to walk along concrete barricades to get to five-foot ways.

It did not help that the roads had been narrowed by the barricades leaving many unsure of how to keep safe with traffic almost at arm’s reach.

There was also a real danger of pedestrians at a certain stretch along Jalan Ampang being splashed with water from puddles that had formed because of the uneven road surface.

Traffic also slowed down as drivers carefully negotiated the water-logged part of the road.

While there was no serious traffic congestion, I found several traffic lights along Jalan Ampang and Jalan Sultan Ismail had been obstructed by the fencing put up to keep spectators at the race safe.

Several road signs were also hidden, especially below the Bukit Nanas Monorail station.