Section 9 Residual Impacts

Section 9 Residual Impacts

9. 9.1 INTRODUCTION The residual impacts of the Project are those impacts that could potentially persist in the long-term even after all practicable mitigation measures have been implemented. The negative residual impacts are of concern, as they have the potential to cause long-term impacts beyond the scope and timeframe of the Project. 9.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS Land and property acquisition Land and property acquisition is the biggest concerns especially for those whose houses or business premises may be acquired for the Project. These concerns were raised in almost all the stakeholders engagement sessions. For residential areas, acquisition would result in displacements of the affected residents. Residents, especially the older and retired ones are expected to be the worse impacted as many of them have stayed at these established residential areas for a long time. The process of leaving familiar neighbourhood and searching for new homes elsewhere could affect them. For business owners whose businesses may be acquired, the impacts are significant, especially those have been in operation for a long time. Acquisition would result in disruption in their business as they need to move elsewhere. For some, this could affect them in long term due to the difficulty in re-establishing their business in a new location and losing their customer base. For tenants who have been operating their business in that particular for a long time, this would have adverse impact to their livelihood. For some of them they fear that they would lose their livelihood since they would most likely be excluded or left out from acquisition process and information about the Project. On the other hand, the proposed SSP Line is expected to bring host of benefits both at local and regional levels. These include: easy and affordable travel mode for many communities including vulnerable groups such as lower income households, students, women, and elderly people. enhanced value of properties near to the stations ERE Consulting Group 9-1

9.3 NOISE AND VIBRATION IMPACTS Piling vibrations and noise represent potential areas of concern as confirmed from past and current experiences in the construction of the LRT (original lines, Kelana and Ampang extension lines) and the SBK Line project currently under construction. Construction works are progressive and will be carried out in stages along the entire elevated alignment, and at fixed locations along the underground segments for the Underground Stations, portals and shafts. It is therefore inevitable that there are issues of concern for noise and vibration affecting residential receivers (and commercial as well) in close proximity to the alignment. Although mitigating measures such as bored piles shall be implemented during construction stage to minimize noise and vibration impacts (Section 7.6), the noise generated from piling activities remains the most intrusive by the community and potential source of disturbance. Therefore, additional measures may be required in the form of temporary noise barriers, use of noise shroud for piling noise and sequencing of piling works at specific locations. The residual impacts at specific locations could persist during the construction period but much reduced once piling works are completed. Locations or areas that require noise mitigation during operation are listed in Table 8-10a 8-10c in Section 8.4. This is to ensure that noise levels at these areas are kept at acceptable limit. Although noise levels from the trains can be adequately mitigated by installing relevant noise mitigation measures, the noise levels may increase over time due to wear and tear of the track and wheels. Similarly, groundborne vibration may increase over time with the deterioration of the tracks, wheels and vibration reduction elements. In view of this, rigorous operation and maintenance is critical to ensure that each part are properly maintained and replaced to keep this residual impact as low as possible. 9.4 TRAFFIC CONGESTION a) During Construction Stage Although MRT Corp will take the necessary traffic management measures during the construction phase (as described in Section 7.5), traffic congestion remain the biggest problem as the alignment travels along already congested roads such as : Jalan Kuala Selangor Selayang Kepong Highway Jalan Kepong Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah ERE Consulting Group 9-2

Jalan Tun Razak Sg Besi Highway Jalan Utama Jalan Raya Satu Jalan Besar Construction of the elevated viaducts and stations will take place along these busy roads and highways and are likely to affect the performance and level of service these roads due to reduction in construction works, traffic diversion, reduction in road lane size and others. At some locations, presence of schools along or near the roads is a major concern particularly during school peak hours. The residual impacts at any particular road could persist from periods ranging from several months to two years depending the nature and duration of construction. b) During Operation Stage The biggest benefit from the SSP Line is improvement in public transport as it will significantly improve the rail connectivity within the northern and northwestern and southern corridor of Kuala Lumpur to the city centre. This is expected to encourage mode shift from private vehicle to public transport resulting in reduction of trips generated/attracted to the city centre particularly, in the northern and southern corridors from Sungai Buloh to Putrajaya. However, localized traffic congestions can be expected within the vicinity of some certain stations due to its locations. To address this, access and traffic conditions of the roads and junctions in the vicinity have been assessed so that any road and junction capacity problems can be addressed. Bus and taxi bays are provided at almost all of the stations, and park-and-ride facilities are provided wherever suitable to ensure easy access to the station. Despite all the measures to ensure proper traffic circulation and better accessibility at each station, problems due to illegal parking, stopping at undesignated areas for pick-up, drop-off or waiting by motorist and buses will persist. Proper enforcement by the relevant authorities is required to overcome these problems. ERE Consulting Group 9-3

9.5 VISUAL IMPACT At certain stretches of the alignment, particularly those passing through the residential areas, the existing landscape and visual integrity of these areas will be affected and these are expected at Persiaran Dagang (single storey houses), Taman Naga Emas apartment, recreational area near Institut Sosial Malaysia (Bandar Sri Petaling), Persiaran Sierra Utama (houses along the road) and UPM area. ERE Consulting Group 9-4