Of damaged pavement and uncovered drains
Published on: Friday, July 08, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
A senior engineer at the District Council points to the security tape and traffic cones placed around the exposed sections on this Sipitang road.
The District Council plans to upgrade the parking spaces near the Sipitang town field, including the covered drains in this area.A Manggatal resident, meanwhile, hopes City Hall will accord similar priority to maintaining a covered drain in one part of the town for the benefit of those going on foot.
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The individual highlighted the pedestrian hazards posed by the exposed section of the five-foot-way to the agency two weeks ago.
On Wednesday night, an elderly friend of his, who is visually impaired, accidentally walked into ‘the hole’ and fell in the drain.
City Hall spoke to the management of a Likas supermart, at the end of June, about taking steps to safeguard the walkway around the firm’s building.
The agency called on the company to look after the five-foot-way and keep it free of any foreign objects which could be potentially harmful to those going on foot.
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Hotline forwarded the location of the damaged pavements to the respective agencies, in each of these instances.
The visually impaired man checking to see if any of his belongings had dropped in the drain after he had managed to climb out.
A Council spokesman said it was arranging to improve parts of Jalan Naparan and the drains, as well as the grills which were placed over sections of the latter amenity.
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He said there were about 50 parking bays on the stretch which would also refurbished when this was done.
“A quotation was called for this upgrading work earlier this year,” he said.
“We tabled the outcome of the quotation during a meeting at the Finance Ministry towards the end of June.”
He said the Council was still waiting to receive the green light from the Ministry.
“We have already conducted a preliminary check of the road and identified those grills, for the drains near the town field and futsal court here, which are either damaged or missing.
“Security tape has been hung around these ‘danger spots’ to alert the public to be careful when they walk in these areas.”
Meanwhile, City Hall is arranging to have some plywood placed over the uncovered section of the pavement at one part of a commercial centre, off Jalan Manggatal F.
A spokesman for its Engineering Department said this would serve as a temporary safeguard for pedestrians.
When asked why the agency had waited for a fortnight to do this, he declined to comment.
“The ‘hole’ in the walkway was initially cordoned off behind some security tape,” he said.
“But this barrier came down over interim period.
The plastic basket placed on the walkway around this building in Likas was deemed to be an ill-advised move.
“In light what happened to the senior citizen, we will expedite efforts to have the missing pavement slab rebuilt as soon as possible.”
The spokesman said structural maintenance was carried out on the five-foot-ways around the town only when it became necessary to do so.
“Our staff will be asked to keep an eye on pavements and covered drains here, from time to time, to ensure that they do not become a pedestrian hazard.”
He said similar concerns about public safety had prompted City Hall to advise a private company not to be tardy in looking after the tiled pavement around its supermarket off Lorong Juta 1.
“The management was urged to place flat objects over any damaged sections and not to use anything that could possibly cause shoppers to trip and fall.”
He said the firm recently placed a rectangular plastic basket over a loose tile.
The word ‘danger’ was written on a piece of paper which had been taped to this receptacle, according to him.
“We felt this was an ill-advised move as, in the event of a stampede, someone could very well trip over the basket and get trampled by those on the run.
“The management were made aware of our concerns. Our engineers were informed that one of the tiles had come away from the walkway.”
Upon closer examination, these City Hall personnel deemed that the irregularity did not present a “critical danger” to pavement-users.
A City Hall staff double-checks the effectiveness of the repairs which were made to the tile on which the basket had been placed.
“There was only a 30 per cent risk to those in normal shoes and a 90 per cent one to anyone wearing stilettos.
“Nevertheless, the firm assured us that the loose tile would be attended to promptly.”
The spokesman said the agency’s staff returned to the area a few days later.
“They confirmed that the basket had been removed and that the tile fit properly on the walkway.”
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