JP\/3\/ROAD<\/p>\n
Road buildings not best solution to traffic woe<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The traffic problem in Jakarta faces a long and
\nwinding road, and now a leading non-governmental organization is
\ncriticizing the government's policies on the problem as
\ncounterproductive.<\/p>\n
An official of the Ministry of Public Works stressed yesterday
\nthat in a bid to solve the traffic problem, the government has
\naggressively added to the roads, with 50 interchanges now under
\nconstruction.<\/p>\n
Dargono Danuprawiro said that this construction does not come
\ncheap. Rp 2 trillion (approximately US$1 billion) will be spent
\non new roads through 2005.<\/p>\n
PIJAR, an NGO known for its social activism, believes that
\nthis massive investment could actually make a bad situation
\nworse.<\/p>\n
Endi Martono, head of PIJAR's legal bureau, yesterday blamed
\ntraffic jams on the growing number of private cars and called for
\nimprovements in mass transit to fight the problem.<\/p>\n
\"The road development policy will encourage people to drive
\ntheir own cars, whereas the people have no comfortable public
\nvehicles as an alternative,\" Endi stated, referring to the
\nerratic public transportation system.<\/p>\n
Another interchange at Penjaringan will be finished in time
\nfor the Air Show 1996, scheduled to be held at the Soekarno-Hatta
\nInternational Airport in Cengkareng, West Java.<\/p>\n
The show is a project of the Minister of Research and
\nTechnology B.J. Habibie, who is also the head of the state-owned
\naircraft industry (IPTN) in Bandung, West Java.<\/p>\n
According to Endi, whose organization demanded that the
\ncurrent Minister of Transportation resign following the tragic
\ntrain crash in West Java last November, the government should
\nspend the money on expanding and improving the rail system.<\/p>\n
\"Developing more roads will not help while there are not
\nenough public vehicles. It merely prompts the banks to give
\ncredit to people to purchase autos,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Endi stressed his belief that any increase in the number of
\nroads will be far outstripped by the sales of new cars in the
\ncity.<\/p>\n
He suggested the government discourage people from using
\nprivate cars and simultaneously increase the number of public
\nvehicles.<\/p>\n
Dargono was quoted by Antara as saying that traffic management
\nwill be useless if the people themselves are not disciplined on
\nthe road.<\/p>\n
The official added that the government will implement one-way
\ntraffic on as many streets as possible to reduce traffic.<\/p>\n
\"He is on the right track to trail Bangkok,\" Endi commented,
\nreferring to Bangkok's one-way traffic policy, which has been
\nproved to worsen the traffic condition. (09)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp3road-1447899208",
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