New roads promote car sales, expert says<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The construction of new roads will encourage people to buy cars
\ninstead of using public transportation and will not solve the
\nworsening traffic jams in the capital, said transportation
\nobserver Darmaningtyas of the Transportation Institute (Intrans).<\/p>\n
\"Wider new roads, flyovers and underpasses will only attract
\nJakartans to buy cars. This will lead to more problems,\" he said
\nafter a seminar on the accessibility of the city for pedestrians
\nand people using non-motorized vehicles, organized by Pelangi
\ngreen organization.<\/p>\n
The city administration has been constructing six flyovers and
\ntwo underpasses at eight locations across the capital since last
\nyear. The construction has caused traffic congestion during peak
\nhours.<\/p>\n
Darmaningtyas said that the absence of comfortable public
\ntransportation has also prompted Jakartans to use private cars.<\/p>\n
\"There are a great number of private cars but they only
\ntransport a small number of passengers compared to public
\ntransportation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Data provided by the city police traffic unit indicates that
\nthere are around 1.3 million passenger cars, 403,000 cargo cars
\nor trucks, 315,000 buses and 2.6 million motorcycles in Greater
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Separately, the city police traffic unit chief Sr. Comr.
\nSulistyo Ishak said that the uncontrolled rise in the number of
\nmotorized vehicles has long been considered one of the main
\ncauses of traffic problems in the city.<\/p>\n
\"The heavy traffic congestion makes motorists drive recklessly
\nand most of the time they ignore traffic signs,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, police say 85 percent of traffic accidents in the
\ncapital are caused by reckless driving or violations of traffic
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
Fatal traffic accidents in Jakarta have increased by 37
\npercent to 334 casualties as of August this year, compared to a
\ntotal of 243 fatalities in the same period last year.<\/p>\n
Darmaningtyas said that the administration must improve the
\npublic transportation system and set restrictions to discourage
\npeople from using private cars.<\/p>\n
Another speaker, Andi Rahmah from Pelangi, said that the
\ntransportation system prioritizes motorists; new roads are being
\nconstructed while the need for sidewalks and zebra crossings for
\npedestrians has been ignored.<\/p>\n
\"Sixty five percent of fatalities in traffic accidents are
\npedestrians and 35 percent of those are children,\" he said.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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