Police move to ease congestion<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In an effort to ease traffic congestion on city streets, the
\npolice said on Tuesday that they were determined to take sterner
\naction against traffic violators in 10 trouble spots around the
\ncity that are prone to lengthy tie-ups.<\/p>\n
"Stricter measures, which will be backed up by the City's
\nTransportation Agency and the Public Order Agency, will be taken
\nto ease traffic congestion in the city, as part of ongoing
\nefforts to cope with transportation problems in the city," said
\nJakarta Police chief of the traffic division Sr. Comr. Sulistyo
\nIshak.<\/p>\n
Action to be taken against violators, Sulistyo said, would
\nrange from simple reprimands to ticketing.<\/p>\n
Sulistyo said police would also deploy more personnel to
\nenforce traffic regulations around the city.<\/p>\n
He said that police handed out an average of 18,000 tickets
\nfor traffic offenses each month.<\/p>\n
In addition to the 10 areas prone to traffic jams, Sulistyo
\nsaid that City Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Padmanagara had
\nordered all police stations in the capital to tackle at least one
\nspot that was prone to heavy traffic in each of their
\njurisdictions.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Police, whose authority covers the Greater Jakarta
\narea of Tangerang, Bekasi and Depok, has 90 police stations.<\/p>\n
Sulistyo said that in most cases the presence of police
\nofficers in congested areas was effective in easing traffic
\nbuildup.<\/p>\n
At the exit of the Blok M bus terminal, only two public buses
\ncan get through every green light as many drivers slow down to
\npick up more passengers.<\/p>\n
"But we've noticed that after we have stationed police
\nofficers there that we can increase the amount of traffic getting
\nthrough the light to 15 buses," said Sulistyo's deputy chief Adj.
\nSr. Comr. Ghufron.<\/p>\n
The presence of police officers has also reduced the number of
\npassengers crowding the exit ramp, forcing them to board buses
\ninside the terminal because the buses are not slowing down when
\nthey exit the terminal, Ghufron said.<\/p>\n
Besides alleviating traffic problems in the city, Ghufron said
\nthe measures were also aimed at reducing traffic accidents.<\/p>\n
"Many bus drivers who slow down to pick up more passengers,
\nneed to make up for that lost time by driving faster to keep
\nwithin their time schedule. Otherwise, they are subject to
\npenalties. That's why they are also prone to having traffic
\naccidents," said Ghufron.<\/p>\n
Jakarta has become well known for its traffic jams ever since
\nthe growing number of vehicles operating in the city far exceeded
\nthe streets' capacity.<\/p>\n
Police reported that the number of vehicles driving in the
\ncity grows 5 percent annually. By the end of last year, there
\nwere more than 4.7 million vehicles registered with the city
\npolice, not to mention the intercity buses and other private
\nvehicles from out of town using the city's roads.<\/p>\n
Ideally, a large city such as Jakarta should have a road
\ninfrastructure covering at least 15 percent of its total area.
\nJakarta's network of roads covers 6.5 percent of the city's total
\narea, amounting to more than 7,500 kilometers of road.<\/p>\n
This limited road infrastructure is also overwhelmingly
\nburdened with Jakarta's dense population, which at night amounts
\nto more than 11.1 million people, while during the day, there is
\nmore than 18 million people in the capital.<\/p>\n
10 spots prone to traffic jams<\/p>\n
* Asean secretariat intersection, South Jakarta
\n* UKI intersection, Cawang, East Jakarta
\n* Kebon Jeruk toll road gate, West Jakarta
\n* Grogol intersection, West Jakarta
\n* Jl. Sudirman, in front of the Atmajaya University, South
\nJakarta
\n* Pasar Jumat intersection, South Jakarta
\n* Pasar Minggu intersection, South Jakarta
\n* Slipi intersection, West Jakarta
\n* The vicinity of the Blok M bus terminal, South Jakarta
\n* Sudirman Central Business District T-junction, South Jakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-move-to-ease-congestion-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}