KenaSaman.com

With the Hari Raya, National Day and school holidays all rolling in one after another starting this weekend, Penang is bracing for an influx of holidaymakers thronging the various tourist spots.

But for the balik kampung crowd, especially motorists, visiting Penang Hill, parking may be a massive headache for them.

This is because the base station’s RM5mil multi-storey car park has yet to be opened to the public despite being completed several months ago.

It is learnt that the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has not issued the Occupational Certificate (OC) for the four-storey building as repairs and checks are still being carried out.

In fact, many tourists and residents were slapped with summonses when they were forced to park their cars illegally along Jalan Hill Railway in Air Itam since the opening of the upgraded Penang Hill funicular train in April.

Penang Development Corporation (PDC) general manager Datuk Rosli Jaafar said the project consultant was preparing a report to be submitted to the MPPP for the OC.

“The consultant is checking the ground and conducting some repair works.

“We are waiting for the relevant reports so that we can submit them to the council,” he said yesterday.

The multi-storey car park, which has 120 parking lots on three levels while the ground floor is for buses, will greatly help to alleviate the area’s traffic congestion problem.

Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the hill railway was all geared up for the holiday crowd.

He said the 30-member operations and technical team was prepared and up to the task.

“The team will be working at full capacity and the funicular train’s operational hours will be extended to 9pm during this period.

“It’s all systems go,” he declared.

Lee said since the new funicular train service reopened on April 25, after being closed for a year for refurbishment, the highest crowd volume recorded was 10,000 on May 1.

“We do not know how many visitors will be thronging the hill during this holiday period but the maximum we’ve seen was 10,000 per day,” he added.

Bukit Bendera Barisan Nasional coordinator H’ng Chee Wey chided the PDC for failing to monitor the car park project closely, resulting in its delay.

“I was told that it was completed in May but as it did not comply with the council’s requirements, the OC was delayed.

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GEORGE TOWN: Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng has slammed the Penang Development Cor­poration (PDC) for its RM5mil car park at the foot of Penang Hill which he claims is suitable only for Perodua Kancil cars to park.

He said the four-storey building, which has yet to receive the certificate of fitness (CF) from the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP), was “very poorly designed”.

He said the ramp was also too steep, with a bend that had only a 2.4m turning radius.

“Only a car the size of a Kancil could possibly make such a sharp turn immediately after coming down the ramp.

“It’s too narrow, steep and not well-planned,” he said.

Tan, who visited the car park yesterday, said the width of the ramps was barely 2m, so cars going in and out would definitely bump into each other.

He said the height of the top floor was a mere 1.8m, which was too low for MPVs and four-wheel drives.

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http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyScen ... /14448/0/0