KUCHING, August 10: Motorists are advised that certain roads in the city will be temporarily closed this Sunday for the mammoth Kuching Marathon 2018.
Roughly 10,000 runners from places such as Brunei, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, USA and several African and European countries have confirmed participating.
Kuching District police chief ACP Ng Ah Lek said about 100 policemen and 100 Rela members would help oversee the smooth running of the run, which will be flagged-off from Padang Merdeka as early as 1am.
The runners will be competing in the Full Marathon (42km), Half Marathon (21km), and Fun Runs (10km and 5km), where cash prizes totalling RM80,000 are up for grab.
Ng told a press conference this morning that motorists who happened to be near the closed roads should heed traffic signs and instructions from the police or Rela members.
“Road users, including the marathon participants, are advised not to park illegally near the starting venue (Padang Merdeka), as it would obstruct traffic flow,” said Ng, cautioning that those who flout the law would be summoned
The roads that would be closed between 1am and 8am Sunday include Jalan Main Baazar/Wayang Street intersection, Jalan Gambier/Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg/Jalan Main Baazar, Wayang Street/Jalan Wawasan, Jalan Borneo/Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Abell/Jalan Padungan and Jalan Padungan/Sri Aman Roundabout (MBKS Cat statue).
This including RTM traffic light/Jalan Satok/Padang Merdeka, Jalan Haji Taha, Jalan Khoo Hun Yeang, Jalan Masjid, and St Mary’s School traffic light.
The marathon participants are advised to park their vehicles either at Reservoir Park, Taman Budaya, Green Hill, Saujana Multi-level carpark, Top Spot Multi-level carpark, Kuching Civic Centre, Jalan Masjid Polyclinic carpark, or the MBKs Jubilee Field carpark.
The closed roads would be opened to the public again after 8am, when the event ended, assured Liew Tang Chieh, race director of Kuching Marathon 2018.
“Runners who could not finish the course on time will be picked up by the organisers on vehicles,” said Liew. — DayakDaily
