PGCC

Many apologies for the lack of apologies. All thanks to the brilliant internet connection we have(that keeps making me disconnect from MSN every 10 seconds).


So anyway, as usual, I'm pretty late on blogging about Penang Global City Centre(PGCC) but it took me a great deal of time to read up and reflect on related issues.

I, for one, am against the whole idea for the simple reason that Penang is too small an island to withstand such a big industrial change. This is mainly because Penang is an island(much much smaller than Singapore, might I add) and no matter how much you develop it, space will be an issue. Notice how much land we have reclaimed in the last ten years? Very soon the unique "turtle back" shape of our island will change on maps of the world to a block of land, similar to geometrical shapes we draw in math class. Or would they rather Penang island be attached to Penang mainland now?

Wanting to boost the country's economy is one thing, but doing it at an unsuitable location is uncalled for.

Remember the initiation of the PORR project? Well, according to them:

The car/person ratio in Hong Kong is 1:12 and in Singapore it is 1:10. In Penang, it is 1:3.

With so many Penangites owning cars, any public transportation solution will take time to gain popularity. While bus service integration is being planned and monorail considered, bypasses and highways are necessary to manage the traffic growth ahead.

So there. And mind you, Penang is small. A puny island, in fact. It looks like a speck of dust on the huge world map my dad has in the next room.

With PGCC, it will generate more employment, yes, but it will also bring in more residents.

From Malaysia City:

The eco-city development is expected to include a 10.4ha public park, two five-star hotels, a performing arts centre, retail outlets, two iconic office towers, residential properties and a world-class convention centre.

There will be "residential properties".

More people = More cars = More transportation problem

And mind you even if you implement new public transport systems, the number of people using public transport systems will not increase, but rather stay at a stagnant. Those who use public transportation will continue using public transport until they can afford to move around another way, and vice versa.

And I haven't begun on pollution: Apparently it's supposed to be the world's first "zero carbon" city.

Let's just go with that idea for awhile(although I am a bit skeptical on this).

But they have forgotten about land our land.

Last night, it took me 45 minutes to reach home from Minden Heights when it would normally take under 15 minutes (if there were a lot of cars sometimes 7 minutes if you're lucky, yes I timed). This was due to the heavy rain that poured yesterday and caused a bit of a flood on main road, Greenlane. The main road near the State Mosque, too, was pretty bad. It was pretty much a crawl all the way back home.

PGCC is situated at the vast land of Turf Club. It isn't very far from the State Mosque. It is the same road that leads up to Greenlane.

With so much development there are bound to be flash floods. And the thing with our roads is that "Penang lacks a clear road hierarchy" and "George Town lacks a good road network".

Also, PORR and PGCC are supposedly interrelated. I do not see how. PORR is supposed to divert the traffic so that people are able to use Jalan Masjid Negeri to go back to their houses. But in order to get into PGCC, those people coming from Minden Heights, Island Glades etc. will have to use the road to get into it. Then we're back at square one: massive jams.



Not only are we losing a lush green piece of land, more havoc in traffic will occur in the years to come. Even if the project is implemented, how sure are we that this enormous project will pull through? KOMTAR was supposed to end up as some centralized government building(I'm not very sure..) but either way it's not really serving it's purpose. With it's main supermarket: Super Tanjung, gone, KOMTAR is now run down and pretty dirty. It's like a sore thumb sticking out in the middle of the city.

When I talked to some of my friends, most were pretty oblivious of the situation. But some didn't bother until I talked to them about these issues. Friends, PGCC effects us. 15 years from now, Penang will be a clone of KL. Polluted, dusty, hectic and worse: far over-developed(although it already is!).

I urge you to get your parents to get those postcards from Penang Heritage and post them to the CM.

I do not want to lose Penang. My family did not pass on moving to KL to go through this kind of life!


Another good read: My-Island-Penang.com