By Karen Bong
KUCHING, April 15: A 50-year-old man was killed after being hit by a car while attempting to cross the multilane road at 3rd Mile in front of Timberland Medical Centre this morning, prompting Kuching South City Council (MBKS) to arrange a meeting with the Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak to resolve pedestrian crossing and safety issues.
MBKS mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng said the Council will look into the cause as to why pedestrians refused to use the overhead bridge, especially the escalator-equipped bridge at 3rd Mile, that has been constructed to ensure pedestrian safety and provide convenience, especially for people with mobility disabilities.
“We will see how to resolve this problem because it has been a while since a fatal accident has been reported in that area.
“I believe the escalator is operational but there are some people who pressed the stop button and caused the escalator to stop functioning. We also need to ensure there is a team maintaining the escalator which MBKS does not have, unless it is contracted to a professional company,” he said during his ShallWeeTalk online session with the community today.
Wee advised the public to not take unnecessary risks, and to use the overhead bridge to cross busy roads even though it may be inconvenient to climb up the stairs which could take time.
“Many accidents involving pedestrians being hit by cars have been reported in that area before the bridge was constructed.
“The bridge was constructed to aid pedestrian crossings because not only does the road in both directions have multiple lanes, but it is a busy road with cars moving pretty fast,” he said.
As the accident has triggered harsh and insensitive comments from netizens on social media, Wee also urged the public to avoid making any speculations on the cause of the accident that led to a person being killed.
“It was really unfortunate and I believe no one would want this to happen, regardless of whose fault it may be.
“A life is lost in the accident so as Sarawakians, we should have compassion and empathy, especially for the victim’s family who must be grieving at this moment,” he emphasised.
“Maybe he was in a rush or had bad knees to climb up the stairs or other factors that we are unsure of. With that in mind, we should not say hurtful things, especially through social media,” he stressed.
Nevertheless, he gave assurance that the council will look into the key factors influencing pedestrian crossing difficulty, apart from measures such as installing high resolution closed-circuit television (CCTV) to keep public areas and people safe.
MBKS reiterated that it welcomed public engagement as well as ideas and suggestions to help build and make Kuching a better and safer place to live in. — DayakDaily
