KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — Opponents of the recently cancelled Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) project today urged the federal government to think of radical solutions to Petaling Jaya’s burgeoning traffic congestion, arguing that another highway would only do more harm than good.

Say No To Kidex (SNTK) said the federal and state governments should look at more sustainable proposals that do not require the construction of disruptive road networks like the highly-congested Damansara-Puchong Highway (LDP).

“Do not forget that the LDP — when it was constructed — literally tore neighbourhoods apart,” SNTK’s press secretary Mak Khuin Weng said in a statement.

The group noted that the completion of the LDP in 1998 left residents in areas such as SS2 and Damansara Jaya — which previously shared facilities within walking distance — with little choice but to drive if they lived on the “wrong side” of the highway.

SNTK argued that this is the most likely contributor to the chronic congestion on the LDP and not due to traffic moving between districts or “end-to-end” traffic woes, as suggested by Kidex’s traffic impact assessment.

“The fact of the matter is that the LDP is congested. Building another highway to offload traffic from one highway is a short-term solution till the newer highway itself turns to gridlock.

“It is akin to putting a Band-Aid on someone who is critically injured with multiple fractures,” the group said.

SNTK proposed that the authorities consider turning Petaling Jaya into a “sustainable green world-class city” by preserving green spaces such as the PKNS football field in Kelana Jaya and stop all attempts to develop the area further.

Last month, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali announced the cancellation of the RM2.42 billion Kidex project, declaring that the controversial highway is no longer part of the state’s 2035 structural plan.

The cancellation came on the heels of sustained protests by Selangor residents, who are at the same time opposed to another highway project, the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash).

Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof has since reverted to Cabinet for a decision following Selangor’s decision, since Putrajaya approved another extension for the project from February 15 to November 14.

An independent review of Kidex by MDS Traffic Planners and Consultants published in January found that the project suffered from a poor planning process among various government levels, besides highlighting concerns of the highway encroaching homes and public buildings like schools and hospitals.

Among the areas that could be affected by the Kidex project are Tropicana Mall, SS2 Mall, Rothman’s traffic lights, Section 14, Amcorp Mall, Hilton, Petaling Jaya, Tun Hussein Onn Eye Hospital, Jalan Templer roundabout, Taman Datuk Harun, Taman Medan Baru and Bandar Kinrara.