Noble as the intentions may be, plenty of motorists were caught off guard on the first day of a two-hour parking limit being implemented by the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) yesterday.
The new limit aims to free up parking spaces in high-traffic areas but as with all new rules, there’s always going to be a rocky transition period and yesterday wasn’t any different.
Chaos and confusion were the order of the day as motorists were slapped with parking summonses for either paying the wrong fees or exceeding the time limit, as reported by The Star.
The orange bays that fall under the two-hour limit carry a fee of 50 sen for the first half hour with a maximum of two hours.
Payment can only be carried out via the Smart Selangor and Flexi Parking apps.
Although slated for implementation in June 2022, the two-hour limit was delayed till September 2022 as Selangor had yet to gazette the amendment to the Road Transport Order (Parking Space Allocation) MBSJ 2022. That aside, many motorists had also raised concerns regarding the ruling.
Currently, the two-hour limit is exercised in 6 zones within the jurisdiction of MPSJ. These zones are USJ10 (Taipan), SS12, SS15, USJ21, Bandar Puteri Puchong and Jalan Kenari in Puchong.
Many that parked in the designated orange bays ended up paying the regular 60sen for an hour rate that’s only for the regular yellow bays.
“We would usually issue a compound of RM 80 and tow the vehicles but we are withholding the towing action during this initial stage,” said MBSJ Corporate and Strategic Management Department deputy director Azfarizal Abdul Rashid.
If issued with a summons, payment made within 24 hours via the two aforementioned parking apps will only incur a fine of RM 10 instead of the full amount.
“Additional payment options via e-wallet apps and e-coupon agents such as Touch ‘n Go, Setel and KK Mart stores will be included by next month,” added Azfarizal.
Of the estimated 45,000 parking bays under MPSJ, a total of 2,106 have been converted and gazetted into orange bays.
Once a motorist has exceeded the two-hour limit, there’ll be a cooling-off period of an hour before being allowed to repark in any of the orange bays again.
Azfarizal explained that information on the new parking limit was shared by MPSJ via banners, mainstream media and social media. The council will even be posting officers in the 6 zones to help motorists understand the new parking limits.
A regular visitor to Taipan 2 or 3 times a week, Hatimah Dollah finds it much easier to find parking now and is happy with the new parking limit.