KUCHING, April 15: The Sarawak Urban Traffic Management Committee (SUTMaC) has supported a recommendation to incorporate the development of dedicated bus lanes in urban planning policies which would be implemented in major towns in Sarawak in the future.
This was among the matters raised during the SUTMac Meeting which was chaired by Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin and attended by key stakeholders including both Sarawak and Federal governments’ ministries and agencies yesterday (April 14).
“SUTMaC will not only look at the short-term measures but also long-term strategies in alleviating urban traffic problems in Sarawak.
“With that, the Committee will look into the traffic issues together and recommend to the government an integrated and synchronised programme, projects and initiatives to resolve issues in a more coordinated way,” Lee said in a statement today.
Noting that both Sarawak and Federal agencies have the autonomy to regulate traffic flow and manage infrastructure construction, Lee stressed on the need for all stakeholders to work closely together to solve issues related to urban traffic management.
“As these agencies work according to their respective roles and functions, with respective agendas and priorities, SUTMaC will be a forum for all the relevant stakeholders to sit together to coordinate pertinent issues that affect urban traffic and transport movement,” he added.
In the meeting, the Committee focused on issues on coordination of projects and programmes undertaken by various agencies pertaining to urban traffic, including the operation of command centres in managing urban traffic which briefing was conducted by the Public Works Department (JKR) and Kuching North City Commission (DBKU).
The Sarawak Attorney General Chambers also gave a briefing on related laws and regulation on urban traffic management, while Sarawak Metro Sdn Bhd briefed about Kuching Urban Transportation System (KUTS) and autonomous rapid transit (ART) project.
SUTMaC was set on Aug 25, 2022 in line with the core functions of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) Sarawak. The objective of SUTMaC is to act as a platform for key stakeholders to discuss urban traffic issues and coordinate the initiatives, programmes and projects to resolve problems relating to urban traffic.
The meeting was attended by heads of departments, government officers from key and relevant ministries and agencies that are responsible for urban traffic management, including Residents of all the divisions in Sarawak. — DayakDaily
