Residents say yes to Dash

Calling for approval: Adlan (left) explaining to Zaidy (left) while the group’s adviser Fakaruddin Ismail (left back row) and member Mohd Hanifah Md Sultan look on.

A GROUP of people is calling on the Selangor government to approve the construction of the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash).

Called Yes-2-Dash (Y2D), the group which claims to represent some 50 residents associations from Persiaran Mokthar Dahari, said the proposed highway was essential to offer a permanent solution to the existing traffic woes in the area.

Its deputy president Adlan Abdul Rahman said they represented some 150,000 residents living along the route.

Although Y2D has not done an aggressive signature campaign, Adlan said, they had collected more than 6,000 signatures through its website.

He said the residents from the area had to endure massive traffic congestion on a daily basis.

“We are going through a lot of unnecessary stress being caught in a traffic jam during peak hours.

“It could be as bad as two hour-long trips to the office and back when it gets really bad,’’ he said after handing over a memorandum to State Infrastructure Committee chairman Zaidy Ahmad Talib at the State Secretariat in Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, Shah Alam.

Adlan said the proposed highway would divert motorists away from the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE).

At present, he said, outbound traffic from Persiaran Mokthar Dahari was directed into NKVE and it created a bottleneck until Damansara.

“It is really messy and we hope the state will take our views into consideration while making recommendations to the Federal Government,” he said.

Zaidy, who welcomed the group’s views, said it was the first time that the state had received a memorandum in support of a highway project.

In the past, he said, he had received objections on the proposed Dash project from residents in Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara.

“The Petaling Jaya City Council is also in the process of collecting feedback from the residents and we have to listen to all parties concerned before submitting our recommendations.

“We will not make a decision based on the number of objections or amount of support received but after considering various aspects, especially on how the project will benefit the public,’’ he said.