Town Planning

Thus the article that state the traffic congestion at Batu Pahat especially at Jalan
Rahmat worst due to development.
First Article:
Johor, 21 May 2012
HEAVY TRAFFIC: Slip roads and elevated highways may be built to overcome the
problem in Batu Pahat.
A STUDY is being conducted to ease traffic congestions in Batu Pahat. Batu Pahat City Council's
president Abdul Rashid Ismail said the traffic congestion problems in the district is at its worst due to
development
The developments had attracted more people to the district, but the roads were not widen to
support the additional vehicles.

Rashid also said the state government had instructed a committee to be setup, to discuss a formula
where the traffic congestion can be eliminated, or to find solutions to ensure motorists will not be
stuck for hours.

He said among the solutions were to built more slip roads from the highway and to have elevated
highways.

Data taken from the Public Works Department revealed that in 16 hours there were 50,000 motorists
travelling on Jalan Kluang, Jalan Muar, Jalan Pontian-Tanjung Labuh and Yong Peng.



Second article:
BATU PAHAT: The Batu Pahat Municipal Council has hired a traffic consultant to
study and devise ways to ease traffic congestion in Batu Pahat town.
Council president Abdul Rashid Ismail said traffic congestion in town was getting
worse over the past few years due to increase in traffic volume and
developments in the town.
He said the study would include ways to make traffic flow more smooth at main
congested areas.
“Members of public have raised their concerns over the traffic problems and we
hope to find a solution.Before making any recommendations on traffic
improvements in town to the government, we must first produce facts on the
cause of congestion and ways to ease it,” he said during an interview recently.
The municipal council approved to pay UTHM Holding Sdn Bhd RM195,000 to hit
the town main streets to study traffic flow, vehicle parking and others for six
months, starting September.
The company that had also conducted similar study at Kluang Municipal Council
area would study several badly affected areas such as Bukit Pasir traffic junction,
Simpang Rantai roundabout, Jalan Rahmat and others.The company is required
to report back the council with an analysis and recommended improvements.
Meanwhile, councillor Abdullah Ishak said the traffic congestion in the town was
quite critical especially during peak hours and festivities.
“Many places are jammed up when parents send their children to schools in the
morning and during rainy days,” he said.
Abdullah said he hoped Public Works Department and police would participate in
the study to ensure smoothness of the study

Decentralization of cities
As we went to site investigations at Balai Polis Traffic Batu Pahat, we may conclude that the
most of the time, there is less accident occurred at Jalan Rahmat.But the main problem is traffic
congestion. There are many possible ways to reduce traffic congestion. How they are evaluated can
significantly affect urban planning decisions. If evaluated one way, congestion is considered the
dominant urban transport problem and roadway expansion the preferred solution, but evaluated other
ways, congestion is considered moderate compared with other transport problems and roadway
expansion an ineffective and costly solution.
Decentralization (or decentralisation) is the process of redistributing or dispersing functions,
powers, people or things away from a central location or authority.While decentralization, especially in
the governmental sphere, is widely studied and practiced, there is no common definition or
understanding of decentralization. The meaning of decentralization may vary in part because of the
different ways it is applied. Concepts of decentralization have been applied to group dynamics and
management science in private businesses and organizations, political science, law and public
administration, economics and technology.
A large number of developing and transitional countries have embarked on some form of
decentralization programmes. This trend is coupled with a growing interest in the role of civil society
and the private sector as partners to governments in seeking new ways of service
delivery.Decentralization of governance and the strengthening of local governing capacity is in part also
a function of broader societal trends. These include, for example, the growing distrust of government
generally, the spectacular demise of some of the most centralized regimes in the world (especially the
Soviet Union) and the emerging separatist demands that seem to routinely pop up in one or another
part of the world. The movement toward local accountability and greater control over one's destiny is,
however, not solely the result of the negative attitude towards central government. Rather, these
developments, as we have already noted, are principally being driven by a strong desire for greater
participation of citizens and private sector organizations in governance.
It is important to use comprehensive and multi-modal evaluation to identify the truly best
congestion reduction strategies, since urban planning often involves trade-offs between competing
objectives. For example, expanding urban roadways may reduce congestion, but creates barriers to
pedestrian travel (and therefore public transport travel since most transit trips include walking links),
and tends to induce additional vehicle travel which increases other transport problems such as parking
costs, accident risk and pollution emissions. Other congestion reduction strategies provide additional
benefits, and so are considered win-win solutions. For example, public transit improvements not only
reduce traffic congestion, they can also help reduce parking problems, accident risk and pollution
emissions, and they improve mobility for non-drivers. All these impacts should be considered when
evaluating congestion reduction strategies.

Cities are places where many people and activities locate close together. This provides a high
level of accessibility, that is, by providing diverse transport options and minimizing the distances
between activities they tend to reduce transportation costs. Current research is improving our
understanding of factors that affect accessibility. For example, Levine, et al. (2012) found that urban
density has about ten times as much influence on the number of destinations motorists can access in a
given time period as a proportional increase in traffic speeds.
Ewing and Cervero (2010) found that a 10% increase in roadway connectivity reduces average
travel distances by 1.2%. Kuzmyak (2012) found that residents of urban neighborhoods with good travel
options, connected streets and more nearby services drive a third fewer daily miles and experience less
congestion delays than residents of automobile-dependent communities. These studies indicate that
cities can provide high levels of accessibility, despite lower average traffic speed.
However, increased density can also increase potential conflicts, also called external costs, such
as traffic and parking congestion, accident risk, and pollution emissions. Of all common activities people
engage in, motor vehicle travel tends to impose the greatest external costs. Automobile travel requires
far more road space, and so imposes more congestion costs than other modes. transport system
efficiency, economic productivity, and community livability tend to increase if automobile travel is
minimized, particularly under urban-peak conditions. This does not require eliminating automobile
travel entirely; even in large cities a portion of trips are efficiently made by car. However, as cities
become larger and denser, automobile mode share should decline.

Figure 2 : Centralisation cities of Batu Pahat leads to traffic congestion
The decentralization public offices from city center is possible. This will reverse the current one
direction movement of traffic towards the city center during peak hours. This can be done by locating
the public offices in different parts especially at the outskirt of the city.
Those interested in the government and management of urban transport have often viewed the
links between the spatial structure of urban development patterns and transport systems as offering
potential to manage the impacts of urbanisation. Modern urban planning arguably emerged as an
attempt by urban thinkers to shape patterns of urbanisation by reducing congestion and spatial
competition within highly concentrated urban cores by improving access to peripheral zones where land
was plentiful. Ebeneezer Howard’s (1902) ‘Garden City’ model of planning promoted the creation of new
‘satellite’ towns distant from the existing centre of an industrial city. Although it has changed in form
and content over the subsequent century, this planning vision underpins much contemporary urban
thinking.
The expansion of residential and employment activities to new ex-urban zones has been
pursued through both rail-based metropolitan planning schemes such as the Stockholm ‘finger’ plan
(Cervero 1998; Hall 2002) as well as through ‘market-led’ road and automobile based dispersed
suburbanisation. Not surprisingly, the extent of decentralisation within the cities of the developed
nations has been uneven.


While some cities underwent extensive suburbanisation of housing and jobs in the latter
decades of the 20th Century, this pattern has not been universal. Many US cities, especially those in the
newer sunbelt zones, were developed almost from their initial settlement as suburbanised poly- or a-
centric metropolises (Jackson 1987). Some of that decentralisation has occurred for particular reasons
not solely related to urban functioning. In contrast, Australian cities, with their strong radial rail systems,
experienced a high degree of residential dispersion but relatively low levels of employment dispersion,
especially in terms of commercial office employment, a relationship borne out in research by Kenworthy
et al (see Union Internationale des Transports Publics 2001; Vivier2001).
The centralisation of employment in Batu Pahat cities has produced a range of urban
management problems. Hyper-concentration of office employment in the Jalan Rahmat has been tied to
traffic congestion, extreme long-distance commuting, high subsidies for public transport, office rent
shocks, jobs/housing mismatches and distorted housing markets . When transport and housing costs rise
in such a manner, can experience problems of labour supply .
The burden of commuting to central locations falls heaviest on lower socio-economic status
households who are allocated to outer suburban localities by the high prices exhibited by Batu Pahat
inner-urban housing markets. A high degree of centralisation can also produce efficiency problems for
urban transport systems due to demands for high peak-hour capacities to support mono-directional
commuting flows. Continued investment in additional capacity on centrally oriented transport routes
can reinforce highly centralised structures and intensify competition for inner urban land resulting in
high rents.
Decentralisation can be conceived as a planning tool that may be actively deployed by
governments to solve urban problems. Employment decentralisation may be defined as a process by
which city-regions increase the proportion of jobs that are located outside of their central business
district (CBD) and its immediate frame. Employment decentralisation does not necessarily mean
reducing the absolute number of jobs in the CBD, nor does it necessarily mean displacing the CBD as the
primary focus of city-region activities. Employment decentralisation can occur through the actions of the
market (i.e. led by the private-sector) or via state intervention. Typically, planned employment
decentralisation is used to resolve disequilibria in the distribution of urban activities, especially
employment, and to reduce the costs to government of rents for public sector offices.
Typically, planned employment decentralisation is used to resolve disequilibria in the
distribution of urban activities, especially employment, and to reduce the costs to government of rents
for public sector offices. A range of government actions may support decentralisation, including land-
use zoning, subsidies and incentives, strategic planning, and location decisions for state-sector office
accommodation (relocating government jobs).


It is important to note that the decentralisation of a proportion of the government workforce
does not by and of itself necessitate or imply political decentralisation. Employment decentralisation
involves only the location of jobs away from the city centre. In most circumstances this provides for a
minor form of ‘administrative de-concentration’ rather than signifying the spatial devolution of
government functions and decision-making to other levels of regional or local government
The existence of industrial area in major cities has always been a nuisance to local
people. Problems such as traffic and housing congestion are usually closely related to their
existence. Therefore, I personally agree by moving large companies and factories to rural
area will ease these problems constructively.

Traffic congestion will definitely no longer be an issue for locals after the shifting of
industrial areas. A considerable large number of employees are forced to move out along
with their companies and this lead to reduced number of road users significantly. Local
people are able to enjoy smooth and fast traffic flow, hence save more time for personal
and family activity.Likewise, decentralisation will ease the housing problems like demand
exceeded supply, over-priced property and so on. The reduced population allows positive
growth of property market to meet the locals' demands and offers more affordable housing
estate for public.

Another reason why there was relatively little change in trip lengths is the change in
travel behavior. Accordingly, with a more dispersed distribution of people, jobs, retailing and
other urban functions there is a distinct possibility that travel distances can increase. Our
research suggests that travel behavior is changing in a manner that al lows travelers to
reach more destinations with the same amount of travel or even less in some cases. They
accomplish this by combining trip destinations in a series of trips, a practice called trip
chaining. Consequently, decentralization appears to have contributed little to increased
VMT.
If continued decentralization of urban areas is viewed as undesirable then a number of strategies
may be used to contain decentralized growth. One approach has been the institution of growth
management plans such as urban boundaries. Another is limiting highway capacity additions.
Irrespective of the type of approach used to curb decentralization, it is important to review what aspects
of the urbanized area would be affected by control on growth. Moreover, the strategy used to control
decentralization would have to be a many-pronged approach - it is unlikely that any single approach will
yield a much more compact urban region without significant penalties to residents and businesses. The
penalties could include high housing prices and weak or decreased



A trip chain is defined as a sequence of trips starting at home and ending at home.
The simplest chain consists of travel to a destination, e.g., work, and back home without
making an intermediate stop. This has a chain size of two and one out-of-home destination.
A chain size of six would include out-of-home destinations before returning home. Figure 4
illustrates three chains,ranging from a simple shopping chain (Example 1) to Example 3 with
seven out-of-home stops.
In addition, travelers may exhibit different activity patterns, an illustration of which is
given in Figure 5. A traveler in Household A engages in have different activities in the same
trip chain taking six trips. A traveler in Household B takes six trips for only three activities. It
would appear that the individual in Household A behaves more efficiently than the one in
Household B because she accomplishes more tasks in probably less time. This efficiency,
however, may occur at the expense of prolonging the peak hour traffic or increasing
congestion levels.




City planning and urban design practices can have a huge impact on levels of future traffic
congestion, though they are of limited relevance for short-term change.Grid plans including fused grid
road network geometry, rather than tree-like network topology which branches into cul-de-sacs (which
reduce local traffic, but increase total distances driven and discourage walking by reducing connectivity).
This avoids concentration of traffic on a small number of arterial roads and allows more trips to be made
without a car.
Zoning laws that encourage mixed-use development, which reduces distances between
residential, commercial, retail, and recreational destinations (and encourage cycling and walking)
Carfree cities, car-light cities, and eco-cities designed to eliminate the need to travel by car for most
inhabitants.Transit-oriented development are residential and commercial areas designed to maximize
access to public transport by providing a transit station or stop (train station, metro station, tram stop,
or bus stop).
Planners engage in various types of development management and urban design
activities in order to coordinate transportation investments with private development
activity. Small area plans (otherwise known as specific plans, subplans, or district
plans) are detailed plans for defined areas of a community. With an emphasis on
design, participatory process, and detail, they form a specific and solid basis for the
commitment of resources to implement proposals, particularly capital improvements.
Because they explore fine-grained issues, problems, opportunities, and priorities not
usually evident in community-wide land use plans, small area plans are uniquely suited
to integrate transportation and land use considerations
Corridor planning is a collaborative process that looks at existing land use and transportation
conditions along a roadway corridor and explores opportunities for improvements to meet long-term
needs. The process includes discussions of existing and projected travel patterns and social,
environmental, and economic issues within the corridor. It requires analysis of potential infrastructure
improvements as well as land use and system-management actions.
A corridor plan defines a comprehensive package of recommendations for managing and
improving the transportation facilities and services within and along a specific corridor, typically based
on a medium- to long-term planning horizon. Recommendations may include a mix of strategies and
improvements, and may relate to multiple travel modes.
Processes focused on redeveloping built-up parts of a jurisdiction or managing
new urban and suburban development on the urban fringe. Some use small area plans
and zoning ordinances to protect natural resources from development. District, sector,
or neighborhood plans may include both multi-modal transportation and land use
considerations to address issues such as traffic circulation and transit service, parking,
downtown revitalization and urban design, and pedestrian and bicycle access. Plans are
implemented through capital improvements, changes to zoning including overlay
districts, and other strategies and generally have a strong design element.
Hence nevertheless,Traffic congestion at Jalan Rahmat Batu Pahat may reduce if
we apply the concept of decentralization of cities.Most of people focused on group of
bank and other government office at that road leads to traffic jammed.Why not we try
the method that scattered away the function office to make life less desired at Jalan
Rahmat.?