Bus park for foothill station

Bus park for foothill station

A parking area for buses will be created near the bottom station of the Penang Hill funicular train.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the bus park and a bridge linking it to the station was one of the first projects needed to be implemented to upgrade and improve facilities at the place and atop Penang Hill.

Lim said there was an available empty space next to a neighbouring Chinese temple about 30m away that could be used for the purpose.

“That space can accommodate 20 to 30 buses and if all goes well, we can build the bridge in the next four to five months,” he said, adding that initial estimates put the bridge cost at RM100,000 to RM150,000.

He also said he would hold a meeting tomorrow with relevant government agencies to quicken the implementation of small projects at Penang Hill.

“I am dissatisfied with the progress and have decided to intervene. People are coming to Penang Hill but many small projects have yet to get off the ground,” he said after visiting the bottom station yesterday.

Lim said on the top of the list of pertinent issues that needed to be addressed was traffic congestion at the station.

He said buses were unable to turn at the roundabout at the station’s entrance where there was only space for one or two buses to stop.

Penang Hill Corporation general manager Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the state government had promised RM40mil to develop Penang Hill over a five-year period.

“For this year, RM8.5mil has been allocated for development, out of which RM1.5mil will go into upgrading projects for the bottom station,” he said, adding that equipping an administrative office and building a shelter at the entrance courtyard were among proposed upgrading projects.

~News courtesy of The Star~