It’s all set to get a bit quieter in George Town on Sundays. According to reports, Penang’s CM Lim Guan Eng has announced that selected roads in the state capital are to go car-free every Sunday starting from December 11.
Lim said the George Town Car Free Day, as the initiative is called, will be the first in the country and is aimed at shrinking the state’s carbon footprint and helping lower-income groups raise their income at the same time.
“No vehicles or motorcycles will be allowed in these Car Free Day zones, only bicycles and trishaws. This will assist trishaw riders in drawing an additional source of income,” Lim said in a media statement.
He added that the state government has been directed to increase the aid given to trishaw riders – who turn up in the heritage zone every Sunday between 7 am and 5 pm – to RM100 a month. Prior to this, trishaw riders were given the RM100 aid once every two months.
The reports add that trishaw riders who register with the Penang Tourism Department, which is headed by state executive councillor, Danny Law, are set to get a RM20 bonus when they participate in the campaign.
This follows on other reports that said that the trishaw riders had rejected the RM100 aid to be dispensed every two months, and had wanted a monthly payment of RM60 instead. Guess this new deal should cut it out fine.
What do you think? Is the Car Free Day initiative going to be a beneficial move?
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great, now i can unleash my trishaw liao XD
Penang is the most successful state…
so next election vote wise!!! chase the useless party out… we can have a better future!!!
how about malacca? very clean place and well planned. anytime can challenge Penang.
melaka is a well planned tourist city, however it lacks of FDI and industrial estate as compared to penang.
melaka to challenge penang? slowly wait. airport also not functioning well though its an international airport. bad traffic conditions in the city during weekends. what’s the point of the monorail?
Monorail also dunno broke down how many times d…such a shame…
indeed it’s a big let down the malcca airport is yet to really function after so long of waiting… whose fault is this? we all know…
both malacca and penang got plenty of nice places to visit, the only thing is a good way to manage and direct the traffic…..
Now Penang is lucky to have a good and brave CM to move towards this direction… when will Malacca have the same fate? sigh…
The Penang CM is from Malacca. why don’t he stay in Malacca, fight to be Malacca CM and develop Malacca to be like Penang? he’s been in Penang for just 3 years and he take all the credit to himself?
Got statistic or not? Which figure you refer to? Now, many company run to China.
doesn’t really matter as long melaka is clean… but now a days melaka jam lor… plate kl ada.. selangor ada, penang pn ada, jb and singapore dont say lah.. everyday got… everybody want to go to melaka… no need big factory in melaka… why need polution… tourism already fine in melaka… what i want only is more tree in melaka.. so it will be more cooler.. greener…. the hack with factory
I think Greece is much much more a tourist site and also much more beautiful than Malacca… but what hapened when mismanaged? A world dismay!
Malacca beat Penang? That’s really funny. They obtained their Unesco heritage status due to Penang’s success. Malacca is over commercialized and only selected old buildings are preserved with very little heritage and history left.
Want to challenge Penang? Get your own industry up and vote for the correct party for a start. Stop relying on your red buildings and weekend pasar malam.
melaka used to borrow from KWSP if i’m not mistaken right..? what a shame
Thanks god i’m living in penang.
and wipe out all kg.buah pala if there are any….
and give them new home like last month
nothing compare Iskandar Johor can beat Penang anytime
Hope Penang Govt take a bit example from Stockholm (one of the most walked city by tourist). As far as I know, they are not car-free city, but the roads are planned to discourage car usage. And for the businesses, they do the logistics at certain hours (esp night) only. And of course, well-backed by public transport system.
customized decals for the trishaw~!! xP
what a joke……
this cm is a true joker. transperancy? accountability? keep dream la.
great move big ++ i hope KL oso do that.. n i hope people who support no vehicle day here not bias to other group who try to make Malaysia less polluted too……not just bcoz same political ideology n reject other..not wise at all
tan sri k what your idea before??????????
as long it not federal govt(*N)..its all ok (lol)
What a great attempt, good job Penag go green.
wow!…
satu tindakan yang diluar kotak….
tapi saya bukan penduduk George Town…
ada penduduk George Town nak komen???…
looks like older Nobita ! hahahaa.
I totally agree. Hahaha
OMG now that you have mentioned it…. :D
OMG !! where’s Doraemon i wonder.
A good move.
Car free at the city centre, you can bring your family for a nice Sunday walk…
Hope there is enough parking…
Parking ticket company soon will get rich more faster.
Very good move. I used to see trishaws have to fight for right of way among buses and cars when I was in Penang, very dangerous.
If they want to get serious about being green etc they need to look at what cities in Colombia do regarding vehicle use. In Cartagena they practice odd and even numbers, so a Saturday for example, only cars ending with an odd number can enter designated areas, Sundays it would even numbers, then vice versa for the following weekend. Some days the council designate weekends car free. It also meant that they had to deliver a rapid transit system that actually works. Car free days also meant that Taxis would offer discounts to get you near the designated car free zones. Its all about alternative transport and enforcement.
Sounds rather complex to be implemented and enforced here. Also sounds a bit like singapore with their red/yellow plates. Let’s start with something simpler first, shall we? If it works out to be good, then maybe they can add newer rules. If it doesn’t, they can try out other ideas. All in all, this is still a good initiative to support.
This color coding system won’t work. Get to the heart of the matter and improve the transportation infrastructure.
If color/number system is implemented, it will make us buy more cars just to get rid of the inconvenience of going to work in somebody else’s car. It’s trying to fix a deep wound with a band aid. The problem why there is traffic is because there isn’t any more convenient way to get around Penang.
No monorail with good routes, or enough buses to reasonably expect one to arrive within 5 minutes of each other, or taxi drivers withe good rates.
and now sunday cannot ride also…………….
can, ride basikal.
I think the CM is trying to go step by step in implementing his Go Green efforts. After all, Penang started to ban plastic bags on Saturdays and now is still the only state who enforces no plastic bags EVERYday. Who knows, maybe this whole no cars policy might gradually turn out into something bigger and better. =)
good…tourist attraction area shall free from vehicle except for police / ambulance / delivery ….this idea was practised a long time ago in Europe and US and other countries….
good move….can walk freely from ferry to george town ..
and i would suggest JALAN TAR in KL and Bukit Bintang shall implement the same idea…
Can wait PR take over
They did implement this at Bukit Bintang some time ago.. But then, ramai yg complaint.. Hotel, coz customer with baby or small kids need to walk jauh wit luggage.. Taxi, lost duit coz distance jd shorter.. Ramai yg lazy to walk actually.. Unless they plan to jog in that area laa..
They did implement this at Bukit Bintang some time ago.. But then, ramai yg complaint.. Hotel, coz customer with baby or small kids need to walk jauh wit luggage.. Taxi, lost duit coz distance jd shorter.. Ramai yg lazy to walk actually.. Unless u wanna go for a jog laa..
not so long ago, KL also implemented walking zone during weekend from Pavillion till Jalan Alor area, I think its a good plan should keep enforcing. (but too bad our public transport sucks big time)
Well they should have a police trishaw also.
Good for the public..and for environment but how abt those retailers if incurred loss in income?
No car, retailer cant make money ka??? haiyaaaa…..
no car… malaysian wont come to shop… retailer lose money in the end….
it’s juz malaysian.. education first… then only the policy come…
Do not underestimate malaysians. especially penangites.
Look at the No-plastic-bag-everyday policy in Penang, it is well accepted. there’s no retailer ‘impact’ as it was discussed before implementations. It’s a matter of time to adjust for matured people.
Time to set up some rent-a-bicycle shops nearby those designated streets.
Think should stock up more two-person-bike for couples too!
melaka should follow too. great idea for tourism
Melaka can follow? U wish la, Monorail also cannot work, u want the pea brain CM to follow. Look at the state theme, Bandar Hijau and tecnology tinggi..hopeless. Even Eye of Malaysia also kena tarik balik. Hopefully the Taming Sari Tower dun stuck half way to the top…LOL
Melaka got monorail which holds the world record
for the most breakdowns !
wat do u expect…..made in CHINA….
the answer is not due to made in China, it’s could be poorly maintain or due to some monkey with peas brain who dont know how to handle it. if it’s poor quality, why we purchase it in the first place using rakyat money? kalau nak bagi komen, bagi la yang bernas…. takeo.
lack of comment shows lack of support but cannot say bad thing because it was announced by thier idol. lol
Ini gila punya kerja. Since the CM changed his hair-style and became all the more chubby, he’s come out with more funny-funny remarks.
If the state really wanted to ban cars on any particular days, there should be viable alternatives, such as LRT, Trems, or buses (ngv ones like in Putrajaya).
In Jakarta they have done this since… urm… I’m not sure. I arrived here in 2008, I guess maybe they have practiced this Sunday car free day before that I arrived :) (been living in Jakarta for about more than 3 years now). And u guys know la how bad the traffic jam n public transportation system in Jakarta condition is, but they still can manage to have that Sunday Car Free Day without fail. On Saturday night those with bicycle will come to ‘berkampung’ at Bundaran HI (a round-about in front of Grand Indonesia Shopping Town), and in the morning they will bike along the Sudirman- Thamrin main road where the car- free stuff is implemented. :)
There are no problems at all, and the people enjoy it. :)
its ok in certain tourism area.
Hmmm i can see the benefit on the tourism n probably little benefit to the environment. Also can see benefit in term of politics… Buying votes?
Not sure how this can be considered as ‘buying votes’. Seems like it could be an unpopular move as it might frustrate locals. Yet, it seems necessary and beneficial to the environment in the long run. Just my opinion.
When you study your ass off through college to get your degree, you call that “EARNING” a degree (of course you need to pay school fees too). But when you pay “fees” without having to attend lectures and sit for exams and able to get a degree easily, you call that “BUYING” a degree.
So….what is the difference between buying votes vs earning votes, as some might argue that the end results are the same (as in voters walk into voting rooms to vote for you)…:)…Of course, there is a big difference.
Buying votes of trishaw owners and association.
One kind of corruption too.
Buying vote here with “initiative” and “action”……..not with “MONEY”……..and of coz, rakyat’s “MONEY”.
it’s first in country or in the world? let’s see the penang people will be white mouse 1st! how this thing going-on
do you mean lab rat ?
Nice and very Good Idea.
Think Green by Local Council
great!!! pls make gurney drive as one of the car free roads
We shall see… I think it is a good idea but they shouldn’t force people to take part. Sometimes I think Malaysians are simply too lazy and pampered, maybe it is because of our security and the high crime. I noticed my friends insist on driving to the nearby place to makan even if it is 500m away, then in the car they complained how expensive petrol is…
Unless it is far, we should walk. I walk to work, eat… sometimes I use the LRT to KL, it is faster and cheaper.
God gave us legs to walk, not to press the gas pedal… unless it is far far away.
There are many times I don’t agreed with your statements but this one I 100% agreed. I think many people are becoming lazy, more so Penang people. Go to restaurants/banks/utilities co also park the car as near as possible, even to the extend of double parking. I can understand when there’s lack of parking space but many times they did so because the available parking bay was 50-100m away.
By ‘forcing’ them to exercise will encourage healthier habits as well. However, I’m concern with the available place to park the car should this concept implemented because Penang lack of efficient public transport such as LRT/MRT. So in the end, people still need to park their vehicle close to the designated car free zone.
Yes man well done.
Wow, so can stay at home & save some buck.
I just moved to Penang for about a week… I think this place need to ban all cars and only allow motorcycles! There isn’t enough space at all…
let’s pray penang island will sink one day so it will eliminate the lack of space problem
Dude.. better not sink.. else I’d be out of work. I wish Penang can be somewhat like Singapore, maybe no MRT but more public transport so we don’t have to drive.
I only wish Putrajaya will sink to eliminate the nuisance and inconvenience in politics
It’ll definitely be interesting to see it implemented!
Good Job!!! Yb LIM.
let’s pimp our trishaw now…!!!
100% support
In Kota Kinabalu, we have Gaya Street Market every sunday morning. Several road closed for vehicles. Give business opportunity to small entrprenuer. Have it try in penang too. Or in semenanjung like pasar malam. Close road for vehicle, open door to business
Let he announce the selected road first, then we know whether the plan brilliant or moronic.
–> just make sure I have enough car park at gorge town, so I can park my car and ride a trishaw.
–> if plan accordingly , no car and motorcycles zone can greatly reduce criminal activities at the area. ( I assume there is no stupid robber going on foot, right? )
that’s right, this certainly prevent that bloody snatch theft.
I think is a wise move. Can try first, go green is always good. Keep up the good work.
This a stupid execution of a good thing.
By closing roads for motored vehicles it will only enchance the crazy traffic jams penang had always have no matter who the government
the point of whole process is to lower emission of carbon dioxide/monoxide whatever, or so.why not go for LED lights on the roads?
Why not give state level subsidies to green car owners? They may be in form of free parkings etc.
Why not two days of bicycle only at high people concentration areas?and of course the state government must have the facilities in place ie covered or air conditioner walking alleys, easy parking places, convenient rest areas, etc.
I know for a reason they are trying to look good without spending anything. I mean whats the cost of banning cars? Zero. But it cant be without money they are.
Guan Eng himself told us the state government saved billions of ringgit they claimed to be more ‘low of public fund leakage’
so why not spend the saved money now? I thought the money belong to rakyat?
Since the days of tsu kun we were saying penang needs more of people movers instead of more access for cars. Get the cars less into penang.
Move people only.
Tsu khoon understood this. But then gerakan kaput. It died down. We were waiting for new state gomen to pick up the idea but shot down. The excuse was no money
now got billions. So shud be no problem isnt it?
Lu jadi calon la…..cakap macam bagus….pikir positif la….ni bukan rugi 250 juta
cakap memang bagus
sebab ini semua betoi
lu pikir lain kali guna otak atas kapla
jangan guna kapla lutut
oke?
crazy traffic jams on Sunday?
Should i add monday,tuesday,wednesday,thursday,friday,and saturday as well?
But weekends the jams are superrr
Hello drmpower, you condem the idea by saying it’s a “stupid execution…”.
Supposedly your own idea of building covered or air conditioner walking alleys is a brilliant way to “lower emission of carbon dioxide/monoxide whatever” ?
Where do you think the power to run those comfy air-cons come from – green gas from your ass, kah?! Loyar burok!
the now smelly George town will be one hell of a stink with all that sweats n armpits.
I rather save the money then waste the money like the “Cow Condo” thingy
Use air conditioner walking alleys GREEN ka??? *wondered*
Yes. Through the green generations of power. However the aircond still has gases that harmful. but a convenience facility provides great bargain for people to leave their motored vehicles.
No doubt penang will be the next hk or Singapor with dap leadership I wished Malaysia has that leadership anyways nice paultan now can talk about politicscs why you so dum led lights how to reduce carbon print led reduce bill got la
Another dumbo
aiya beng.
Lu pigi kila la LED belapa wat lo?
Belapa conventional lights watt lo?
Thats the simplest solution i can provide to another pea sized brain
I don’t understand what you are trying to say. Are you saying we should build LRT/MRT? MRT is surely out of question as we do not have enough population. LRT? Maybe, but I think Penang can do better than that. Remember, be innovative. An expensive solution does not equal to a good solution.
by spending nothg to get such a huge benefits to the ppl….y not?
Ur so call “move the people” plan sound irrelevant and ridiculous.
i don’t see by subsidies the green car owners can help alots in reducing CO2 emission much bcos not every1 can afford it as u think.
air conditioner walking alleys..? sighhh…
just implement simpler measure first is enough laa…
if wanna give ideas surely we have thousands… but the problem is, we give ideas with guaranteed the best outcomes and superior than others
This is either going to be a significant step for Malaysia’s environmental actions, or it’s going to blow up in GE’s face. Either way, I have to respect the man for taking some bold initiatives.
regardless the ‘cap’ of govt , BN or PR, both try to give a better solutions in their own ways. but im totally sure, there WILL be later on the trishaws gonna SUBS to Indonesians, Bangladeshi. same like taxi. not every, but there are some of Malaysians take for granted.
what about no plastic day, i think the effect going to be like these
they’r used to it now, the no plastic days. Most shoppers have their own tod bags, or use the recycled boxes. I have 2 tods bags in all my cars now. So be it when in kl or penang i use them for shopping.
I always bring my own bags when I shop regardless of types of item and location for more than 5 years now. If a shop don’t let me use my own bags I will boycott them (so far none). Normal plastic bags are bad because they’re made from natural gas I believe. I don’t throw them away like most people, I reuse them 5 times and finally recycle them. I use my Oxo-biodegradable bags for household waste which contains only food waste. I recycle everything else in IKEA. I even bring my own PP containers when I buy food lol.
This man is great. I’m in PJ and I envy the people there.
Go la there. You think Penangites like to walk ha? Everybody talk only. If they had wanted to go green, they would’ve gone on a bicycle or trishaw long time already. Don’t sokong for the sokong your idol.
it’s an unwise plan… i thought office hours worker off duty on sunday only… how about others? they also need to work on sunday… how if work on sunday? from bayan lepas walk to jetty and go to butterworth work? and i thought sunday was the most less traffic day in penang…
Selected roads will be closed only. Read properly..
hello, he is saying certain road in George Town not the whole penang island, read properly before you comment lar
Read Eric, dont just bash.. It said Georgetown only, heritage zone to be exact, i.e only certain tourists areas of Georgetown… i wont have problem going to Bayan lepas or Butterworth which are industrial areas..
Bayan Lepas to Jetty road will not close. As the news stated, the propose car free road is for the Heritage zone. Its a good move for I love to take photographs and also it help makes the road lively with peoples IMHO.
ish… selected road in state capital!!! understand that phrase?? meaning nearby the city centre la… are u staying in penang? idiot, u see any trishaw in bayan lepas or not? dun say something without using your brain… E.G. implimentation might be on CAMBELL STREET or china town… this is the place where there are tourist!!!!! stupid…
No matter what policy the administration implements, they surely cannot please 100% of the people. For just a simple reason, our society is made up of different types of people, the selfish vs the selfless, the lazy vs the hard-working, the open-minded vs the cavemen, the “We”s vs the “Me”s, the educated vs the not so educated, the “can-do”s vs the “can’t-do”s, the forward looking vs the backward looking etc. What is a good government? One that implements policies just to please the people? Or one that implements policy that would benefit the state?
When DAP first implemented no plastic policy, there were lots of doubts and opposition from the aunties/uncles, plastic bag suppliers/manufacturers as well as opportunistic ex-state administrators. But this policy has been so successful that no one would oppose it today, simply because this is the RIGHT THING to do. It has certainly made every Penangite proud, very proud. We have not felt this pride for a long long time, only humiliation during chicken koh’s time.
To be a successful government, you need to inspire your people, show them where their future is, show them what fairness is.
PR not DAP…..we want to kick DAP in the next election. PKR and PAS can stay.
bro, give it a try first… this i consider a prototype… fine tune it later and there are many who will benefit from this move. At least, try support a bit lah and be optimistic.. it might work or if it not.. tell that guy, he will listen… isn’t it DAP guys?
FYI, my sis stays in Bukit Jambul and works in Tanjung Bungah… and she sometimes work on Sunday.. she is not complaining..
Here in KL almost every week they close certain road especially road surrounding Dataran Merdeka. When ‘someone’ doing what they called massive’ illegal’ rally nearly all road in city centre will be closed but still many people will walk to that rally….Malaysia Boleh WALK! hehehe!
hahaha good one. 1 thumb up for you.
Eric, read first before you talk with your @$$!! Uneducated is it?
its just eg only… i mean and for those who’s staying at the herritage area? but if lim wanto do so we also cannot do anything… hope that those who agree with this plan is not staying at that area.. i though we are sharing opinion here… how come so many people here like to point people mistake? (~.~)?
Good Job….
Wont be surprise to see the same thing going on in the other states soon..
This good intention but I don’t see any relevant doing it. LGE tries to give some “hopes” from trishaws members not to do demonstration again.
cheap popularity stunt that’s what it is!
psst! If its cheap & popular, I will support!
Good job LGE. Reward the needy people is correct thing to do.
Unlike some people that instead of punishing Mat Rempit in jail, they heap praise encourage Mat Rempits go more racing future eddie lawson kononnya.
Now choose:
Vote those helping the needy rakyat or,
Vote those supporting road idiots
Vote for Change.
How about those taxi carrying tourist to their hotels ? Expecting them to carry their bags and take the thrishaw to the hotels ! Its better to allow taxi and buses if not susah…la tourists and workers.
Depends on how many hotels there are in the heritage zone and how far these are from the nearest non-closed road, no?
Melaka Jonker Street should be car free on Sundays too !!
Congratulations! I was visiting Jakarta and my Driver have to divert from Jln Surdiman (like Jalan Bukit Bintang for KL) on Sunday. I was told that the whole road was free from automobiles on Sunday. I requested he take me to have a look – I cant imagine this road without cars/motobikes – and wow – so many people, walking, playing etc there.
Now we can walk and enjoy Georgetown to the fullest. Well Done and Congratulations!
Good move. At least a start to make the air better. The most importantly an action that speaks louder than words. Keep it up.
better than PJ la kot.. oni certain people got free parking.. haloo bos those who drove hybrid in Malaysia not the one that need freeking support maa..
as for Penang.. yada yada.. 2nd Singapore in the making.. cast away la all the low paid people.. wait and see ar if you lose all those middle class..
a very good move.
I’m a resident of Penang n hv both rode n drove in G’town area on Sunday. I do agree on CM’s suggestions since the heritage zones r rather quiet on Sunday while most shopping areas are located outside d city. in fact any one serious about visiting d heritage parts r better off looking around on foot than in a car coz they r not exactly far away from each other n only then u can truly appreciate n notice its uniqueness.
Any I doubt the whole of G.Town will come under tis new rule as it would prove to be nonsense. Just at look where bicycle lanes are designated, they r not on d main roads like Dato Keramat, whole of Burma road, Weld Quay etc.
Interesting,
I personally know George Town being a city that is difficult for pedestrians. One problem is the five foot ways in the colonial shop houses are blocked by items put by shop owners. Some owners mark their territory by putting flower pots or metal fence to mark their property boundary spanning the length of five foot ways. That force people to walk on streets. I think the Car Free Day would be an opportunity for pedestrians and trishaws to get more space to get around without having to worry about cars!
Besides, many parts of the city were designed in the era where cars doesn’t even exist yet.
hello, he is talking abt certain road in George Town not the whole penang island lar, read properly b4 comment.
hermm i doubt it lah…. more road you closed… other road will jam up.. same as the other side of the road got accident.. but both way jam….. other part they need to look is.. if user drove to that place.. park the car a long the road just to go to that road.. kene saman oso… then jalan jam.. ambulance, fire fighter cannot go in.. on and on and on… but good try though.. all the best penangrian
The Idea is good, who care he’s opposition or what, I’m only see what idea they will propose.
ok presumably they’re lots of dap supporters here, i do understand that i will be getting a bashed up reply… but how can this be successful? and one more thing, why toll plazas at sungai nyiur and penang bridge are still running? .. i thought abolishment of these were made as an issue during electoral campaign back in 2008?
What a great way to enjoy the beautiful Penang, slowly walking around town. Will try it when I have time
we’ll see…. Funny… Same like our stupid neighbor…
Does the plan take into consideration the people who have to go the city to attend wedding or other dinner function at restaurants or hotels in Georgetown on
Sunday?
A good start to encourage more people to become trishaw riders. When competition is stiff, again they will make noise.
I fully support the idea, but I just wonder what do I do when I get there with my family with a boot full of luggage during mid Dec weekend. Does that mean i can’t leave George Town with my car on Sunday? or I park my car outside of George Town and take a trishaw from my hotel to the car park, provided my car is still there parking nicely.
I love Penang…
Yeahhhh…time to release my dragon..named fixiee!!!
It’s nothing more than greenwash, just like no plastic bag day in Selangor.
good. its time to kick Malaysian ass out from vehicle seat. no wonder malaysian among the fattest people in asia.
if something emergency happen how? if someone mother want to give birth how? think yourself..
I’m sure emergency services car will be exempted
Penang is becoming more and more like Singapore by the day…. which is not exactly a bad thing…or is it ?
That’s possibly a sign that the kiasuism of the Singaporean will secretly adapted in the Penangites mind.
I think it’s a wrong perception. Many Malaysians are kiasu inside too. If not why do our drivers get blocked on purpose (not always fortunately) by other selfish drivers if they show signals too early???!!! Try it yourself, you’ll laugh at them. Petrol prices very expensive!!! But not when they go flat out and block others unnecessarily or speeding pass red lights?? Double standard hypocrites.
Lim alot of good idea always…….
This idea is definitely better than the idea to rearing cow in the condo.
I guess it lessens the chance of a spoilt brat 20-something douchebag driving his mercedes the wrong way and then ploughing into a row of shophouses and dislocating the residents in it.
Great, you are my idol YB LIM
No harm to try.
walk more, drive less!
The plan will inconvenient people who have to attend wedding or other function at restaurants or hotels situated in Georgetown.
haha, good move, bold move. For those who are worried that they can’t drive to wedding dinner, try not to worry too much. There is a solution to every problem, always. The earlier you face the problem, the earlier you’d be able to come up with solution. Penang could be a hot bed for “green” solutions and technologies in the next 10-20 years. We will be a smart city, creating intellectual properties on green solutions. To create a smart city, you need to attract smart people to come and work and live. We need people who are truly smart, not greedy. We need creative and innovative people, not kiasu people. To attract such people, we need a clean, corrupt-free and efficient environment.
Great idea, but need careful execution / refinement along the way. Personally I think the PG state government is very dare to go ahead with this. Doing it wrongly, it may even cause political harm.
I am glad many people start supporting similar initiates even these could be at their convenience expense. For people who do not support for whatever reasons, I do respect their choices but bear in minds if we don’t believe something will success, it never will. For people who have shared their concerns whatever, it is good to channel those to the state government.
One thing I do agree immediate improvement is required though -> PG state government should provide more channels / information / do more ‘marketing’ on how feedback/opinions can be provided … Personally I don’t know how to do it.
loads of gimmicks. car free day once in a year won’t do much difference, similar to earth hour campaign. if you are serious about it, make it at least once a week.
ya ya thumb me down, who gives a sh!t
Eh, serious about it, it is every Sunday starting from December, so definitely once a week!
dunno why but i jz realized from the article that it will be held weekly. (either i overlooked the sentence or someone has already edited this article).. if then, i’ll say good move! hopefully more states will follow this initiative.
Great idea, but need careful execution / refinement along the way. Personally I think the PG state government is very dare to go ahead with this. Doing it wrongly, it may even cause political harm.
I am glad many people start supporting similar initiates even these could be at their convenience expense. For people who do not support for whatever reasons, I do respect their choices but bear in minds if we don’t believe something will success, it never will. No pain, no gain. For people who have shared their concerns whatever, it is good to channel those to the state government.
One thing I do agree immediate improvement is required though -> PG state government should provide more channels / information / do more ‘marketing’ on how feedback/opinions can be provided … Personally I don’t know how to do it.
Save petrol, reduce carbon emission, promote healthy lifestyle among Malaysians, reduce vehicle’s wear and tear. Good initiative to go green. This trial should be done in stages. If it is successful, this should be implemented to busy cities like KL on weekends. But the government must first willing to invest to improve the current public transports so that people can benefit from using better, well organised public transports to places in the suburbs.
Agreed man if we don’t change now we humans will face a big problem in the world already happening and in the near future.
My point is get the facilities right when u want the people to walk rather then drive.
These days nobody want to sacrifice anything without knowing what they be getting back. Or what kind of replacement to the thing they have to let go
so a two day bike only at high concentration areas needs not only the bikes, but also things that convenience the public. So if the aircond alleys arent suitable, do something
and ah. What to power the massive airconds? Since guan eng is damn going green, two solutions : solar, and one technology which i cant tell because we are in the middle of patenting it.
So watch your words,kid. U are dealing with someone who knows the field well.
so u involved with the so-called new air-cond tech? no wonder u come up with the mega idea…
we don’t need to condemn other’s effort la mate… in the middle of patenting only… let alone reliability, maintenance cost… yet bashing the idea that can anytime be implemented and proven results with minimum cost
How that is related to this?
Nevermind small pea.i shall explain.okay?
Condo or whatever, the loaned money becomes the company’s and whatever they do with that, its the business of the company. So its really the BOD decision to do whatever.
This isnt political.
It seems u are so young and know nothing about management segragations or whatever. And yet u got the balls making fun at someone expenses?
Geez.
Don’t waste ur time, nobody listen to ur nonsense here, try U2Sun or TV3/4 maybe u have fan there.
Anyway it is Management Segregation (segragation ? which school u attend ?) & that simply mean different department handling different duty, obvoiusly u have very little knowledge about management.
encourage cyclist petrol free penang is smaller than malacca why not?
Tram. Lrt. Whatever. The point is get the facility to move PEOPLE ONLY in penang
by having this, anyone governs penang has the option to eliminate 50% of cars inside penang. And imagine just how much carbon print whatever is reduced?
50% is of course an estimation. It cud be lesser than that.
Penang cant be expanded to accomodate exponential growth of car usage. Despite whatever being said about bad economy, people still buy cars.
And the second bridge at bt kawan will only intensified the problem in that tiny island
what wud u prefer?trapped in jams engine running waste petrol risk getting into accident tired vs leave ur car at designated safe place in mainland travel to penang for whatever business u got but have to walk a bit?
I can do the studies and all but for that i need CM-ship and all politicians out.
Yes need that because i will be doing the thinking and theres super heavy price to pay for it
LRT / MRT / TRAM surely boost transportation advantage…
but how long the whole project will consume? 5 years? 10 years? the cost involved..?
meanwhile… THE CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS WILL DEFINITELY WORSEN THE TRAFFIC CONDITION…
i’m not saying that providing those facility is not a good idea… it does… it’s just another topic… this idea of Guan Eng is great… can be implemented anytime soon with minimum cost… then who knows, at the same time his administration will start with the facilities soon..?
Lot’s of people with bad eyesight here, or maybe cover by cow dun $, it say certain road closed on Sunday 7am – 5pm only, if not mistaken it is 3 road with less traffic during Sunday, similar to Chinatown in Singapore (just look at the amount tourist they drawn).
fren, how much better is the public transport in sgpore compared to Penang?
sangat bagus apa yg cuba dilakukan ini..
buat dulu dan tengok apa yg perlu diperbaiki dan ditambahbaik…
semoga org penang akan sokong benda ni, bandar akan jadi selamat (dr kemalangan dan ragut) dan selesa untuk sehari dlm seminggu pun dah ok.
Great moves by the state. It is not easy to implement something new, esp contradict to the norm.
I would suggest the state to also have a big ‘welcoming’ event to the ‘car free’ campaign ie street carnival on those effected roads for a kickstart. This would make traders, tourist, trishaw operators, and the city people cherish the campaign and reap the quality of living in term of business income and better environment for all.
As more and more people esp young people are more into outdoor activities ie MTB, joggings and marathons…these people should be the targetted group of people to fill up the roads during the carnival…
It is already about time all cities in Malaysia to implement the same thing. Trishaw is dying out in towns of Malaysia…those are our heritage..let us support the move without prejudice…
i think..they will bring back the memory of trem….
LGE, if you are reading this, I advice the DAP / PR not to commit hara kiri. You may have a good heart to protect the environment but to inconvenient your voters is another thing all together.
Please answer the following questions:
(i) How good is the public transport in Penang?
(ii) You honestly expect families to use bicycles and trishaws?
(iii) What happens in an emergency?
Its a bad move. It may buy you praises in the international arena, UNESCO, even Prof Jeffery Sachs may even call you to congratulate you but is that what you what. Yes, you have taken Air Asia before, but when was the last time, you actually took a bus with your family, esp when it was raining.
If you want to help the local tourism industry and trishaws, there are other means to do so. Having a blanket ban is BAD. Just like the stupid ‘No Plastic Bag on Saturday’. Ppl just don’t go to Hypermarkets on Sat, or just put in the trolley and leave the trolley in the middle of the carpark. Does it work – No. Have any cost savings been passed to the consuemer. No.
If you dare to implement this in Selangor, I dare to say that even your loyal suporters like me who voted for PR in the past will kick you out.
For the rest of you supporters of this scheme, all I can say is that either:
(i) You don’t live in Penang
(ii) You don’t drive
Hallo cfa,
No plastic bags on Saturdays?? We have completely banned plastic bags everyday in Penang, and the people love it! Are you day dreaming or what?
I am not dreaming, just thankful that I don’t live in Penang. Tell me, how do you store your waste at home that you want to throw away. Just Warp in newspaper? So, all the hawkers in Penang expect ppl to bring their own containers?
People who say no to Plastic Bags been given away / used at shopping malls just want the feel good feeling only. Just like users of electric cars. Do you ask what powers the electricity.
So, please ask all supporters of No Car day to move to Penang/. then all of you can feel good for one day while you polute the environment for the remaining 6-days.
hi cfa,
My wife actually refuses to eat things that are contained in plastic bags. She said it’s cancer causing. She always brings along stainless steel container to “ta pau”. Especially for hot food.
Good for you if you bring your own container. I also do that but in my case, it is my own free will. not some half baked idea imposed by some single environmentalist.
Same with this Car Free Day. It will not achieve its objective and ppl with young children / elderly folks who want to drive will rather go else. Of course, they can’t please everyone but the system has to be in place to ensure that the people will not be inconvenient that these trishaw riders will not be jacking prices or showing preferential to foreign tourist.
Hi cfa,
Hmm…electric cars? you mean the hybrids? looks like you have an issue with them, and that’s because you are not well informed of how they work. Hehehe, you are definitely not very smart….:D
I did not say Hybrid, you did. I said electric cars. Perhaps you want to Google what that meant to prove that you are smarter than me.
Hi cfa,
Haha, I don’t want to prove that I am smarter than you. I just want our state to progress (since hoping for our country to progress has been so difficult), I just want to live in a place where I can be proud of, a place where you get quality jobs, quality education, quality life and last but not least, quality state administrators to materialize all that.
stop questioning and telling ppl how it works, our state admin have its advisors. And is good for you to ask and comments, however me and tons of the Penang ppl are not complaining about the FREE PLASTIC EVERYDAY and why are you so frustrated about? And i could say, even though our public transport is not the best, it’s already done its best out of it compared to previous admin.. and i DO take it… when i need to go into blocks of flats in air itam, it also have access to it, hillside, fettes park and the housing area, FREE shuttle from town area…. ohh i think you don’t even know the places, why should i lists it out or you dont even take bus!!! and why would you questioned it?
To your 2nd question, ONLY to certain area not WHOLE Penang!!! your ass so expensive ah or you are the disable? CANNOT walk ah… 3rd question, you already say it is Emergency, of course it has it access to it la… you think you r the one who have brain and they don’t have issit? i also don’t know why i comment to you… *feels stupid*
so far the benefits of this outweighs the cons, good move.
good move… however, the carbon offset is zero as they already take the greenery away to build luxuy bungalow elsewehere. :P
however, this is truly a good move, and should be implemented elsewhere ..
putrajaya should be a car free city with only public transport to get anywhere.. and there should be a monorail for all pak-pak menteri to come to work… and fleets of EV to get to another parcel for a meeting or what not…
also.. plant alots of trees and build a proper walkway and not tangkap muat walkway that ‘pooh’ missing in the middle.
Bicycle = Gain money, lost fat.
Car = Gain fat, lost money
……
Brilliant idea. However, while the trishaw puller may get a bit more income, what about the say of the business/shop owners? Will they suffer?
Hi Ichan,
I think business will be better in that area. My son is definitely looking forward to cycling “in the middle of the road”. You’d have more “foot” traffic, rather then “motor” traffic. Food outlets would definitely have better business.
Great effort by Penang government to reduce down carbon and crazy traffic, in fact I used to cycle around in Penang island in early days.
how bout taxi drivers??will they be affected by this move??
in Melaka, they have “pimp my ride” trishaws with ah beng like sound system..so cool!
r u sure mr c.m? will wait n see
It’s a good initiative for a start. I think the MNCs will love this sort of policy. But there probably will be a lot of complaints and negative feedback the first few months, just like when No Plastic Bag Saturdays was implemented. Or like when a popular shopping mall hikes the parking rate, it’ll be quieter at first.
But people will get used to it. I keep reusable shopping bags in the car now and use them even when it’s not Saturday and I still patronize Midvalley. What Penang need to do is find a way to plant more trees in these car-free zones and build more shelters.
idea bagus, pelancong Asing mungkin berminat nak jalan2, naik beca, naik basikal.
nak bagi idea memang bagus, yg penting jalan kan projek tu, lepas tu tunggu feedback dr rakyat. kadang2 proposal cantik, tapi result KO.
We are looking forward to attend a relative’s wedding dinner at a restaurant in Georgetown sometime end of December this year with our families. Now that cars are banned from entering the city, whatever alternatives do we have except to cancel our attendance.
For the government, it is always easier said then done. What can we laymen do?
Hi janeho,
*sigh*, why do you guys get worried unnecessarily? They are going to close only selected roads, I would guess only roads that are quite empty on sundays like….beach street and roads nearby, maybe Love lane/muntri street area. These are great spots to cycle along, where you don’t get to enjoy the “heritage” element of Penang if you drive. ..I think it’s time for me to go shop for a bicycle this weekend!!
to all who oppose, understand which roads are being closed first before blindly commenting. The impact would be small especially on Sunday. These roads don’t see much traffic except for the odd “peak hours”. For any change, there is always resistance at first. It’s not like the whole Georgetown will be closed to traffic.
Based on the news, 3 roads will be closed to cars (Beach Street, Bishop Street and Church Street). The surrounding roads are still accessible and cars, bikes, etc can park and walk, cycle, etc.
If not mistaken these is the road that proposed to be closed from 7am-5pm every Sunday, Beach Street (Lebuh Pantai) Lebuh Bishop, Lebuh Gereja and Gat Lebuh Gereja.
I think its better than investing in China-made monorail our other heritage town of malaka did ! Just try it see if it works if not try other things..la
good move from penang govt. and if possible, those trishaw mover should introduce a special discount price for the promotion. and also ample parking area outside from the proposed closed area for the ease of people to go there.
apsal LGE tak teruskan penang monorail?
kenapa sibuk nak buat laluan ketiga (tunnel) kereta? jambatan kan dah ada 2?
parking kat pulau pinang pulak sesuai untuk kereta kancil dan kereta sorong je. kenderaan lain parking tengah jalan, buat jem!
green sungguh!
kesian org p.pinang. asyik kene kencing dgn org melaka je.
p/s: kalau buat monorail, jgn ambik buatan cina, terbukti takde kualiti. org melaka dah terkene!
Good Move. No wonder penang has all the best in Malaysia.
Not corrupted state transport system . Not made in China.
Just “buy expensive only:.
Most locals don’t go to Heritage Zone on Sunday, or any other days. Some more only selected roads are going to close for cars. Don’t think this move going to affect the locals much.
I’m from Malacca. I can imagine if the state gov closed down the Jonker walks, and areas beside it, it won’t affect my life at all, nor my family nor my friends. We as locals have no purpose to go to tourist area on weekends. We go to shopping centres which is located outside the town area.
A good move, hope Malacca can follow this as well. However, there are some open space parking lots charging expensive fees near the China town area. I think belong to important people. So my guess is they welcomed more cars and car free zone here in Malacca is not very possible :P
Some Malaysians will never get pleased by anything indeed, even if everything is free in the world (no existence of money) they will still find something to complain LOL…………
OK…that the CM Idea…
Hope he can manage to educate drivers in Georgetown….mostly (not all) very intolerant, rude…
compare to other place…. that my experience stay in G’town for a year…
Do you think KL is better? People will give way for you there? Pls dont spoil number plate P. I m suggest you should stay at banjaran titiwangsa!
Tok Ali Rustam should follow this idea. The area in Bandar Hilir starting from the red building should be car free.
hope sg petani also follow this idea..anyway..it’s only sunday..not working day…so just reat at home lar….this is for future
If there is proper public transportation and parking spaces where people can stop their car and enter the zones with ease, it will be a great step towards carbon footprint reduction…
hope the CM made all those consideration!
penang negeri pelancongan. kalau hari cuti tak boleh ada kereta atas jalan, bermaksud, takkan ada pelancong akan ke batu feringgi, bukit bendera, dll… apa yg bengong sngt idea ni??!!! sepatutnya hari ahad la org nk bercuti, jln2, tp pergi buat idea bodoh yg membuatkan negeri kehilangan ribuan ringgit pada 1 hari… pikir la sikit..
Bukan semua jalan ditutup lah.
Time to get those segway!
what the cheapest? 7k?
it just a political gimmick. Penang government dont have money to give subsidy…force other citizen to subsidized the trishaw owner…ridiculous and short term decision. We see how long it can be executed….what an ashamed…
if all cars can be substituted by horse/camels, it will be waaaay greeener rite?
I am not from Melaka, but always love to go to Melaka as there are lots of places to visit and eat, and the retailers in Melaka are a lot friendlier than in Penang.