Looking to the river<\/p>\n
Many eyebrows might have been raised when, a few days ago the
\ncity administration made public its plan to \"revitalize\"
\nJakarta's rivers and waterways for transportation purposes. The
\nwaterways, which have for many decades functioned mostly as dump
\nsites, would be used as components in the city's integrated
\ntransportation system.<\/p>\n
The administration has already instructed the City Public
\nWorks Agency to make a preliminary study on that section of the
\nCiliwung river which runs from Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, to
\nAncol in the north. But the plan, which is part of a draft bylaw
\non a planned integrated transportation system for Jakarta, sounds
\noverly ambitious, even absurd and ridiculous, to many. Some
\npeople have called the concept crazy -- an ambitious idea that
\nreflects the administration's frustration over its inability to
\ndeal with the complicated problems that stand in the way of
\nsetting up an effective land transportation system.<\/p>\n
As anyone can see, traffic in Jakarta has been getting worse
\nfrom day to day, along with the growing number of people and
\nbusinesses in the city. But the administration has time and again
\nfailed to find a working formula to ease traffic, which actually
\ndoes need an integrated system whose realization must involve
\nseveral institutions and ministries.<\/p>\n
While no single cure to the traffic problems has yet been
\nfound, the administration has started working on a busway program
\nthat has drawn pros and cons among the public. Meanwhile,
\nconstruction of new flyovers and enlargement of the existing
\nroads are considered the best possible choice to curb the city's
\ndaily traffic snarls as no more vacant plots are left for the
\nconstruction of new roads. Unfortunately, the number of new
\nvehicles of various brands continues to steadily increase from
\nyear to year.<\/p>\n
Traffic experts have said that it is practically impossible to
\nimprove the city's traffic system without totally revising the
\nexisting spatial and zoning plans -- a concept that sounds even
\nmore inconceivable. In such a frustrating situation, the city
\nadministration is presently turning its attention to the rivers
\nand canals, all of which have so far been badly used.<\/p>\n
It must, however, be said that, basically, the idea to use the
\nrivers and canals as an integral component of the city's
\ntransportation system is actually quite logical. Jakarta has 13
\nrivers\/canals, many of which played a significant role as
\ntransportation arteries in the old days of Dutch colonial times,
\nand in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Ciliwung river, which
\nbisects the areas of Jl. Hayam Wuruk and Jl. Gajah Mada in
\ndowntown Jakarta, was at that time used to transport forestry
\nproducts and other merchandise to the areas west of the Krukut
\nriver in Tanah Abang.<\/p>\n
Even in the 1970s people could still use boats to go from
\nManggarai to Setiabudi in South Jakarta. All this goes to attest
\nthat river transportation is not really such a new thing in
\nJakarta. The question, however, is how serious is the city
\nadministration and how consistent will it turn out to be, both
\ntechnically and financially, to turn the idea into reality?<\/p>\n
Be that as it may, comparing Jakarta's badly abused and
\npolluted rivers with those of Kalimantan in their present state
\nis actually more rational than to liken them to those of
\ncountries such as Singapore and North Korea, where the rivers are
\nwell maintained.<\/p>\n
For example, river transportation was very popular in
\nKalimantan before motorized vehicles began flooding the provinces
\nin early the 1970s. Slowly, the river boats lost the competition
\nwhile at the same time sedimentation from deforestation made the
\nrivers more and more difficult to navigate.<\/p>\n
The condition of Jakarta's rivers is of course far worse than
\nthat in Kalimantan. Over the decades, people in Jakarta have been
\ntreating them as less and less as navigable waterways and more
\nand more like all-purpose garbage disposals\/toilets. This must be
\ntaken into serious consideration by the city administration
\nbefore it can even think of realizing its dream.<\/p>\n
Those rivers must be widened, dredged and cleaned of all
\ngarbage and debris. And this will be very costly and time-
\nconsuming. River terminals must be built and a decision must be
\ntaken on the appropriate type of boat that is suitable for
\ntransporting people.<\/p>\n
Another fact that must be taken into consideration is that all
\nrivers in Indonesia are \"rain rivers\" that only have adequate
\nwater during the rainy season -- sometimes actually too much to
\nbe safe for a boat -- and not enough in the dry season. The most
\ndifficult thing to accomplish, however, is to maintain the
\nrivers' cleanliness by, among other things, encouraging people to
\nstop throwing garbage into them.<\/p>\n
Given those facts, the question is, will the city
\nadministration be able to consistently proceed with the project?<\/p>\n
We suggest that the city start with a more reasonable plan:
\nlimited river transportation such as for seasonal sightseeing
\npurposes. Providing large boats to ply long routes similar in
\nfunction to the vehicles used on the ground public transportation
\nsystem, such as for example the mikrolet minibuses, is an
\nimpossibility.<\/p>\n
By so doing, the city administration might gradually be able
\nto develop the rivers for transportation and at the same time
\ndemonstrate to residents that clean rivers can be used for many
\nuseful purposes. Cleaning up the rivers must therefore be
\nprogressively and steadily undertaken before thinking of using
\nthem as part of the city's grand transportation system.<\/p>",
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