Road closure on Aug 18 to give way to Kuching Marathon

Road closure in different parts of Kuching on Aug 18 to give way to Kuching Marathon.

KUCHING, Aug 16: More than 10,000 people from all over the world will be thronging the city to participate in the Kuching Marathon this Sunday (Aug 18).

As such the Kuching District Police is urging the public to adhere to road closure notice around the city, which have been put up all over the city since Monday.

Kuching District Police Chief ACP Awang Din Awang Gani said road closure will commence at 11pm on Saturday (Aug 17) as the event would be flagged off at Padang Merdeka at 1am on Sunday. The affected roads will be re-opened after 8am the same day.

The affected roads are the Main Bazaar/Wayang Street junction, Jln Gambier/Jln Tun Abang Haji Openg/Main Bazaar, Wayang Street/Jln Wawasan, Jln Borneo/Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jln Abell/Jln Padungan, Jln Padungan to the Padungan Roundabout, RTM traffic light/Jln Satok to Padang Merdeka, Jln Haji Taha, Jln Khoon Hun Yeang, Jln Masjid, Jln Tunku Abdul Rahman near the Cat Statue, and the St Mary’s school traffic light junction going towards Wayang Street and Jln McDougall.

“Those participating in the marathon or wanting to witness the flagging off event are advised to park their vehicles at Reservoir Park, Taman Budaya, Green Hill, Bangunan Saujana, Top Spot multistory carpark, Civic Centre, Jln Masjid Polyclinic at Jln Masjid and MBKS Jubilee Park,” said ACP Awang Din.

ACP Awang Din (centre) and Liew showing the map of the road closures.

He advised road users who have to use the closed roads at the time to plan alternative routes early, and to cooperate with the police manning the roadblocks, and always adhere to their instructions.

Kuching Marathon 2019 director Liew Tang Chieh also urged members of the public to adhere at all times to the road closure notices which have been set up around the city since Monday.

He said in the past, there had been complaints by some foreign participants that they had to run alongside speeding vehicles at dawn which posed a risk to them.

“Since last year we are doing it properly and completely close the designated roads for the marathon,” Liew assured.

As of today, a total of 10,681 runners have registered to participate in Kuching Marathon 2019, where 1,023 of them are foreigners from Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam and Yemen, he added.  — DayakDaily