Story by Amanda Khong
RESIDENTS of Elsiedale Estate are at the risk of being trapped in their own housing area.
The problem began when the landowner sold the front piece of the land to a developer, Jiran Bina Sdn Bhd.
Families from 64 houses on the outer part of Elsiedale Estate moved out in September after the land sale.
There is only one road that leads in and out of Elsiedale Estate and it connects to Jalan Evergreen 5.
The developer is now beginning to do ground works on the cleared land and this includes the need to seal off the construction site which includes cutting off the one and only road that leads in and out of Elsiedale Estate.
The developer built a make-shift, temporary alternative road for the remaining residents of some 50 houses in the back part of the estate.
This temporary road is currently the only available road for the residents to access and they will have to use this road for the next three years while construction is ongoing.
Pulau Tikus assemblymember Yap Soo Huey held a press conference on Oct 31 in Elsiedale Estate to address the issue.
“The alternative road is very dark at night, steep, dusty, and overall very dangerous for the residents to use. I strongly urge the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) to not allow any construction work to begin until this problem is solved,” Yap said.
The estate residents range from young children to elderly folk as old as 85.
School buses cannot use the alternative road because it is too dangerous and narrow, hence students now have to walk out to reach the bus stops.
It was only 300 metres via the old road to reach the bus stops and market.
With the alternative road it is 1.2km to the nearest bus stop and 1.4 km to the market.
Chan Fee Hing, 75, said she has stayed in the estate since 1972 and this is one of the most inconvenient arrangements made especially for the elderly.
“It is very scary, dangerous, dark and far if I have to repeatedly go on the new road just to go to school every day,” said Chan Tze Kye, nine.
Yap also urged the developer to come up with a better solution rather than this hasty temporary route.
Elsiedale Estate is a community of more than 100 houses located behind Taman Evergreen, which is next to the Mt. Erskine market.
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