KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 — Upping the ante on traffic congestion in the national capital, City Hall (DBKL) will be clamping cars that are found to be parked illegally on the street from September 1.

Car owners who flout the city’s laws will be charged RM50, which they will have to pay in person and within four hours of their vehicles being locked up or pay another RM100 to get them back after it is towed away, Mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said today.

“This implementation is based on studies and scrutiny by DBKL’s Pemudah which found the irresponsible attitude of users who parked their cars illegally to be one of the main causes of traffic congestion,” he was quoted by national news agency Bernama as telling reporters after officiating at the Kuala Lumpur Low Carbon Society Blueprint 2030 Workshop here.

Pemudah is DBKL’s special team tasked with helping businesses in the city.

Areas that have been earmarked for enforcement are: Jalan Masjid India, Jalan Tun Sambanthan in Brickfield, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Jalan Bulan, Jalan Changkat Bukit Bintang, Jalan Chow Kit, Jalan Kenanga, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Solaris Mont Kiara and Jalan Klang Lama.

According to the report, the new regulation is enforceable under the Road Transport Act 1987 and Road Transport Order (Provision on Car Parks) Federal Territories 2016.

Mhd Amin said DBKL has issued a total of 746,185 in compound fines from January to July this year on vehicles found to have obstructed traffic.

Of that figure, 232,726 was on cars that had no parking tickets; another 4,857 vehicles were towed away for parking offences.

The KL mayor previously said DBKL has to take serious action as some 50,000 new cars are registered in Kuala Lumpur every month, clogging up the roads and causing gridlock in the city, especially within the central business districts and popular hangout spots like Bukit Bintang, Bukit Damansara, Sri Hartamas, Desa Hartamas, Solaris Mont Kiara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar.

The latest action plan follows DBKL’s move last month to nearly triple the parking rates for public bays it owns, from RM0.80 per hour to RM2 for the first hour, and RM3 for every subsequent hour.

Though many city motorists panned the move, DBKL’s parking rate action plan was welcomed by at least one group, the National Public Transport Users, who urged the government agency to take even more drastic action address public apathy towards the worsening congestion.