Henry Butcher Malaysia Penang Hb Newsletter
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HENRY BUTCHER MALAYSIA PENANG International Asset Consultants HB NEWSLETTER September 2013 For internal circulation only New one-way traffic System in Penang—what is the impact on your Properties? Introduction Penang island – with a combination of new and old houses, narrow roads, warm neighbourhood and nostalgic atmosphere, is a small lovely island to stay in. Nevertheless, over years, in the name of development, traffic issue is one of the key challenges that needs to be addressed in this little island, mainly attributed by the increased number of vehicles, unsatisfactory public transport system as well as limited room for road expansion. Pic from The Star Current Status In view that the existing roads are unlikely to be expanded or broaden, the move to convert 19 Gurney Drive-Pulau Tikus areas are the key roads into a one-way system aims to address tourist belt with middle to high end residential the traffic issues such as traffic flow zone, as well as dynamic commercial/business bottleneck, illegal double parking and massive district. High volume of traffic and congestion jam around these areas. in these pretty narrow streets are the daily norm, particularly during rush hours on week- On the first night of the implementation, the days. Situation became worst during weekend, traffic at Gurney Drive was almost became public or school holidays. standstill. Other major areas such as Kelawai On 27 July 2013, the Penang State Government, road, Cantonment road, Burma road as well as via Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP), Pangkor road also experienced heavy and slow started its trial run for 3 months for its newly traffic flow the next following days. proposed one-way traffic system around Jalan Burma, Jalan Pangkor, Jalan Kelawai, Jalan A week later, the traffic misery has not seems to Bagan Jermal and Persiaran Gurney on north- improve. For instance, at Pulau Tikus, the small east district of Penang. narrow Jalan Pasar and its feeder roads have been choked with honks and vehicles from HB NEWSLETTER September 2013 Table 1: New One-way Traffic System, 27 July 2013 Road Name Proposed Traffic Flow 1 Jalan Burma (a section between Jalan Pangkor One-way, from Jalan Bagan Jermal to Jalan Pangkor and Jalan BaganJ ermal) 2 Jalan Kelawai (a section between Jalan Pang- One-way, from Jalan Pangkor to Jalan Bagan Jermal kor and Jalan Bagan Jermal) 3 Jalan Pemenang (between Jalan Kelawai and One-way, from Jalan Kelawai to Persiaran Gurney Persiaran Gurney) 4 Jalan Cantonment (a section between Jalan Two-way Burma and Jalan Kelawai) 5 Jalan Cantonment (a section between Jalan One-way, from Jalan Yeoh Guan Seok to Jalan Burma Burma and Jalan Yeoh Guan Seok) 6 Lebuhraya Codrington (a section between One-way, from Jalan Burma to Jalan Yeoh Guan Seok Jalan Burma and JalanYeoh Guan Seok) 7 Jalan Yeoh Guan Seok One-way, from Lebuhraya Codrington to Jalan Cantonment 8 Lorong Kucing One-way, from Jalan Berjaya to Jalan Burma 9 Lorong PulauTikus One-way, from Jalan Burma to Jalan Berjaya 10 Lebuhraya Maktab One-way, from Jalan Kelawai to Jalan Burma 11 Lorong Maktab One-way, from Jalan Burma to Jalan Kelawai 12 Medan Maktab One-way, anti-clockwise traffic flow 13 Lorong Leandros One-way, from Jalan Kelawai to Jalan Burma 14 Jalan Concordia One-way, from Persiaran Gurney to Jalan Kelawai 15 Lorong Burma (a section between Jalan One -way, from Jalan Kelawai to Persiaran Gurney Kelawai and Persiaran Gurney) 16 Jalan Birch One-way, from Persiaran Gurney to Jalan Kelawai 17 Jalan Lim Chin Guan One-way, from Jalan Kelawai to Persiaran Gurney 18 A section of Persiaran Gurney One-way, from Jalan Pemenang to Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah 19 Jalan Kelawai service road (in front of Gurney One-way, from Lorong Kelawai to Persiaran Maktab Paragon) 20 Site lane of Gurney Paragon (north west direc- One-way, from Jalan Kelawai to Persiaran Gurney tion) 21 A section of Jalan Moulmein One-way, from Lengkok Moulmein to Jalan Pasar Cantonment road towards Codrington Avenue, posing high risk to pedestrians, especially the elderly / infirms / children who used to walk across to the neighbourhood market. Besides, the new one-way system has turned Cantonment road, Burma road and Kelawei road into three lanes traffic. These three lanes traffic, to certain extent, have smoothened the traffic flow, but also caused a never ending traffic flow, that may endanger the pedestrians who are trying to cross these roads. HB NEWSLETTER September 2013 Over the weekend, bumper-to-bumper heavy traffic continues to choke the Gurney Drive as well as one-way street around Kelawei road near to Gurnery Plaza and Gurney Paragon, which further prolong to Jalan Bagan Jermal. Other adverse comments include longer on- the-road time from one place to another; extra travelling distance and time to the nearest hospital at Pulau Tikus could be costly during emergency. The school holidays, festive season and the opening of the latest shopping mall, have posed some added stress to this new traffic trial run. Properties around Pulau Tikus Areas Pulau Tikus is blessed with many charms. It is a middle-upper class residential neighbourhood. The late Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, spent his retirement years in Pulau Tikus – Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (formerly known as Ayer Rajah Road). At the centre of Pulau Tikus areas (Burmah road), there are many pre-war shophouses and heritage buildings that are still remain pretty intact. The more than 200 year-old Burmese Temple, as well as numerous Buddhist and Taoist temples are located in the vicinity. HB NEWSLETTER September 2013 Along with the heritage, there are numerous modern commercial buildings and favourite hangout at night. Not to forget, Pulau Tikus is also a haven for food lovers. Many foreign tourists (new and repeat visitors), who choose to stay at the luxury hotels at Gurney Drive, would take a walk from their hotel to Pulau Tikus town centre, just to satisfy their taste buds with the infamous Penang hawkers food at the market and coffee shops. Gurney Drive, an upper end residential areas and tourist attraction spot, is linked with Pulau Tikus via Cantonment road, Jalan Pemenang, as well as Kelawei road. Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon shopping malls, 4-5 stars hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and pubs, upper end condominiums such as 8-Gurney, Gurney Paragon, Siverton, Millennium Tower, under construction V-Residence, and many more, are handsomely situated along this long stretch of seafront promenade. Pulau Tikus-Gurney Drive is at the prime jewel location of the island. Property prices of the areas have appreciated substantially for the last couple of years. The average price per sq. ft. of the residential landed and stratified properties, are currently in the range of RM700-RM1500 per sq. ft. and RM550-RM1200 per sq. ft. respectively. Traffic Flow and Property Value In contrast, traffic congestion, air and noise pollution, as well as safety hazard, Property investment guru always emphasize are among the drawbacks. on “Location, Location, Location!”. Road and After the one-way traffic flow has been traffic flow, just like the rivers in the good old implemented, it is observed that some days, play an important role in fostering link- shop houses are more visible, giving the age, nurturing strategic location, and businesses a boost while some people find subsequently bring significant impact on the it difficult now to access to the shops that value of a property. they use to frequent. Traffic flow is an artificial river in the modern At the point of writing, there are still world. The impact of traffic flow to the some snags to be fine-tuned and iron out property value would be considerable. for this one-way street traffic system. Traffic flow could bring both positive and There is no one solution that could satisfy negative impact. A smooth and well-planned all. Managing Traffic flow is a combina- traffic flow would enhance accessibility, tion of science and art, and the wisdom. visibility, as well as the value of a residential property and commercial outlet, which would lead to positive effects to local economy. HB NEWSLETTER September 2013 Is “Open House” an ideal way to sell your home? Let’s find out. Like many other useful practices that life of- fers us (getting into a car and driving it on public roads where it may come into contact with other vehicles, for example!) the benefits far outweigh the risks. While theft from Open Homes is very rare, it is always better to minimise the chances of becoming a petty crime statistic. These six guidelines will assist. Conducting open house for sale is still unpopular amongst vendors in Malaysia 1. Never allow any prospective purchaser to although it is frequently done in the western enter your home without the agent being countries. present. Open for inspection programme is an ideal 2. Ensure the agent and one other person are way for busy vendors to expose their home to present at the Open House at all times. prospective purchasers without putting them- selves out more than they need to. 3. Confirm that the agent is recording the name and contact details of every visitor before Purchasers also love them, for a different they enter your home. Remind them that reason. They feel they can linger as long as they are entitled to ask visitors to show they like getting a feel for a property that photo ID on your behalf before letting them interests them and visualising the possibility of view the property. living in the house without feeling they are inconveniencing anyone. 4.