What? More Green Lane trees to be removed for road-widening

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In this era of climate change, I was alarmed to hear that up to three dozen big trees could be removed along Jalan Masjid Negeri (“Green” Lane) to make way for another car lane. (Update: Apparently, 16 trees could be involved or ‘transplanted’, not 33 as reported – but how many of these transplanted trees will survive?) This is the stretch across the road from the MacDonald’s outlet.

This road-widening project is expected to cost some RM15m. Is this the best use of our limited funds? Would it really solve our traffic problems? For how long?

In the past, certain people had to work hard to convince the JKR to save those trees. Back then, the Malayan Nature Society protested that Green Lane road-widening would cut down many trees, and it documented all this with photos. They apparently met the then Penang state ExCo member Khor Gark Kim about this and following that, he asked the JKR to change the alignment and spare the trees.

That’s why the double carriage-way road meanders along Green Lane, weaving its way past the trees, have you noticed?

And now we want to “relocate” or “transplant” the trees so easily? Apparently, some trees could be relocated a few metres away and others transplanted. But what is the survival rate of trees previously transplanted or relocated?

Penangites who care for our trees, please tell your elected reps that you DON’T want to see trees removed just like that, just to make way for more cars in our already congested island. Please make your feelings known.

The photos below show some of the trees before they were removed to make way for road-widening near the Green Lane-Udini roundabout. How many of those trees survived the uprooting and transplanting?

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glissantia
glissantia
4 Feb 2016 3.24pm

“A developed nation is not one where the poor drive cars. It is where the rich use public transport.” – Enrique Penalosa (ex-mayor of Bogota), 2011

tunglang
6 Feb 2016 10.28am
Reply to  glissantia

Then Merc S300 Lansi will have to ‘chap-lap’.
Right or not, Mr Ah Piang?

Chew
Chew
4 Feb 2016 2.20am

Thanks for the write up. Quite a number of friends sharing this article and commented on it. Yes, there are still people that cares!

May i ask a practical question, what can we do over here?
whom should we write to stop this?
YB’s name? Department? or maybe an online petition?

Thanks!

Firedog
3 Feb 2016 9.17pm

hahaha !No more green in Green Lane ?Call it Botak Lane lah !DAP govt like BOTAK !

Tang
Tang
3 Feb 2016 5.19pm

YB Chow the traffic chief himself could be motor car lover hence seems not able to understand what is Green and what is Carbon?

benny
benny
3 Feb 2016 2.47pm

The root cause of the problem is too many cars on the road.
Those who drive cars alone without passengers are the contributing to traffic congestion. People today love their cars more than the trees.
To save the trees, Penang must implement electronic road pricing to force people to use RapidPenang.

lim
lim
3 Feb 2016 7.08pm
Reply to  benny

Yes, benny, you are right, people today love their cars more than the trees !!! Everyone prefers their own cars, more convenient they say !!!

benny
benny
4 Feb 2016 4.06pm
Reply to  lim

When they are stuck in the traffic jam, the last thing they would treasure are the trees.

Shebby
Shebby
4 Feb 2016 7.24pm
Reply to  benny

Good point.

Patrick
Patrick
2 Feb 2016 11.57pm

The problem is that, that stretch is not the bottle neck and not the root cause of the jam. Towards town, the jam happens at Jalan Utama turning to Macalister Road. Another bottle neck is the traffic light at turf club. Towards Penang bridge direction, the bottle neck is at the traffic light right after Mc. Donald and the stretch towards Penang bridge right after that.

zoro
zoro
2 Feb 2016 11.32pm

Poor trees. But what about us? How many of us walk, bicycle or take public transport instead of using cars or kapchai? I use public transport because they are efficient but overcrowded during peak hours

Siew Eng Chuah
Siew Eng Chuah
2 Feb 2016 9.31pm

Remember how trees were removed from the divider on jalan Tun Abdul razak to widen the road? That sure helped alleviate the traffic jam, right? Trees gone forever. Cars, hardly.

Ng Seksan
Ng Seksan
2 Feb 2016 8.26pm

it is naive to think that these old trees will survive if relocated

Teresa Nelson
Teresa Nelson
2 Feb 2016 8.02pm

Soon it will be know as Black Lane.

MO Kwan
MO Kwan
2 Feb 2016 7.02pm

The authorities seem clueless about our traffic and liveability issues. They seem to prefer the LA model: Los Angeles is one huge freeway. Road widenings and adding new highways only solve local bottlenecks, they move the jam to some other road. The most pleasant cities in the world are not dictated by the motorcar. They are spaces for people, as opposed to the motor vehicle. By design, roads are made narrow to preserve the liveability of the city spaces. Trees are a most precious component in the urban streetscape, they connect man to Nature, give shade, reduce glare and ambient… Read more »

Sukhindarpal Singh
Sukhindarpal Singh
2 Feb 2016 5.30pm

The only green left soon shall be green coloured roads painted green

Gwynn Jenkins
2 Feb 2016 5.11pm

so the green penang was about the lovely bicycle lanes after all and nothing about trees!

Lau
Lau
2 Feb 2016 6.11pm

If tree need to be removed, just remove them, don’t waste resources by transplanting. It was a stupid idea to save tree trunks as their growth are slower than brand new plants, and it cost lots of money to do so. It is time to take serious survey of why people travel, and how they travel, and what alternative can be made available to the road user. By the way, don’t discount the new mode of travel by using personal transport device like road rover, a skate board like motorized unit that work well with mass transit system for difficult… Read more »

Kah Seng
2 Feb 2016 5.39pm

“Green” Lane will be connected directly to the Pulau Tikus area and will hence adopt the other road’s name – “Brown Road.”

Michelle Quah
2 Feb 2016 3.20pm

No!!!!!!!!! My my those trees are precious!

YK Leong
YK Leong
2 Feb 2016 3.24pm

The Angsana trees along the roads of the Penang General Hospital, Western Road, York Road, Scotland Road and Green lane were planted in 1884 or thereabout by the first curator of the Penang Botanic Gardens by Charles Curtis. However, in the 1920s, a fungal disease killed off many of the trees and there was a second mass planting of Angsana to replaced those that have died. This were planted by Flippance , then curator of the Penang Botanic Gardens. This account was given by Professor R.E. Holttum, a former director of both the Penang Botanic Gardens and Singapore Botanic Gardens.… Read more »

MalaysianFirrst
MalaysianFirrst
2 Feb 2016 1.42pm

Been around he world. Seen too many things to open up my previously CLOSED mind. All other countries are narrowing down roads, to around 10 feet. Cutting down the numbers of cars on the street. They have walkways for all of their citizens, pedestrian and disabled alike. They have bicycle paths. They have “CAR FREE DAYS”. The higher or wider the road, most motorist will tend to SPEED up, usually ending up with disastrous ACCIDENTS. As a result, head injuries usually occurs WITHIN the car, more than 50%. Why the need for SAFETY BELT and AIR BAGS, if cars are… Read more »

Tang
Tang
2 Feb 2016 7.08pm

Be careful some folks may associate expanded mind as being radicalized mind that like to challenge the status quo. Anyway, good write up only if the motor-crazed public can emphatize with.