Although the development is expected to have some impact on the traffic volume in the area, the study stated that it was the culmination of the growth of the existing traffic as well as the contribution of traffic volume from all the other developments in the area.
The study, conducted by Perunding Trafik Klasik Sdn Bhd, also indicated that there would be a few new access roads for the development of the Penang Global City Centre (PGCC).
There will be two access points from the Penang Outer Ring Road to the proposed development.
The existing Jalan Batu Gantung will be widened and become a dual four-lane carriageway and intersect with Jalan Scotland and Jalan York to form a new interchange.
An elevated flyover, together with an elevated U-turn and an underpass, are among the new access roads which will be constructed.
PGCC is modelled along the lines of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and is being developed by Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd.
Based on the trip-generation exercise, it is estimated that the development will produce 4,137 vehicular trips and attract 6,469 vehicular trips during the morning peak hour.
During the evening peak hour, it is expected to produce 8,457 vehicular trips and attract 8,055 vehicular trips.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Civil Engineering dean Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah said a sustainable approach would ensure a better future for the transportation system in Penang.
“We should ensure that this mixed development upholds the sustainable transport aspirations,” he said.
Ahmad Farhan said any development, especially in an already congested area, would need a proper traffic study to forecast the impact on the surrounding areas.
Depending on the forecasted impact, Ahmad Farhan said mitigation measures could include traffic management schemes, the provision of infrastructure or both.
“One obvious change will be that traffic will be generated on a daily basis instead of during the weekends when there are races at the turf club.
“The proposed PGCC will attract and generate trips, so we must estimate the trip-generation and then distribute and assign the traffic volume to the road network surrounding the development.”
Ahmad Farhan said it was necessary for traffic planners to design road and junction systems which would be able to accommodate the increase in traffic volume after the proposed development reached its operational maturity.
“They must ensure free flow into and out of the development.
“The road around this development is already congested, so the traffic study must propose a system which will be able to accommodate the additional traffic.”
He added that a critical consideration was the integration of the public transportation service into the planning.
