Merdeka eve.

Merdeka oh merdeka.

Shah alam's in a flurry of activity this morning. roads running into dataran merdeka (between museum & theater selangor) and dataran shah alam (between MBSA & PAS) have been closed and that created a minor jam with the majority of people trying to get to work... especially those with offices within the immediate vicinity of said areas.

Adding to the confusion are the recently installed traffic lights (so many of them) at the istana kayangan roundabout. so far it doesnt look as if its improving the traffic situation but instead seems to be making it even worse. for people of shah alam, that particular roundabout is shrouded in certain infamy.... it holds the title of being the most oft upgraded piece of land throughout the city of shah alam. and not only have the upgrades been outrageously frequent but also totally ridiculous... i recall a time when the ground level was lowered and colourful plants were planted, then the level was raised and orchids were then seen adorning the area, next platforms were created and it was the look of a green nusantara garden (well at least thats what i thought it was supposed to be lol), once the pihak berkuasa even had this hideous looking, obviously very fake plastic palm trees that lit up in red and yellow come nightfall!! and most recently in a fit of patriotism i suppose, they erected numerous flag poles displaying the state and national flags. macam2 kan? and not one i consider as worth all the trouble (or the hefty cukai pintu that must've been utilised).

Now sometime during all those makeovers, they also made a rather drastic physical change to the roundabout itself.... one that had a direct effect on the traffic flow. to cater for the traffic volume during peak hours, they somehow managed to shrink the size of the roundabout to make way for an extra lane. it was a smart move then because the jams were pretty massive during peak times. but lately, even with the help of our friendly traffic policemen, the lines of vehicles have been steadily growing longer and longer in the mornings and late afternoons. in fact on certain days it can get quite horrendous.... and i guess thats what got the smart alecs into thinking "hey...why dont we put up some traffic lights tra-la-la-la-la?"

Yeah right... it might've worked fine if you all hadnt shrunk the roundabout in the first place!!!! now imagine about 6-8 traffic lights placed at whats supposed to be strategic points in the not so big roundabout!!!! tak ke ridiculous namanye?!! bila roundabout tu tak sebesar mana theres just no room for vehicles to enter and exit, much less manuevre their way around. its worse when you're amongst those who have to be using the stupid thing 2-3 times a day. sakit jiwa betul laa. now i'm just wondering how long this latest fiasco in planning is going to last.

Merdeka eve and merdeka nanti mesti jam. better avoid taking that route but its easier said than done because its part of that which makes up shah alam's main trunk roads.