Sidewalks still a luxury for pedestrians<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The number of pedestrians in the street, whose voices are often
\ndrowned by the roar of vehicles, indicates how much public
\ntransportation is being used, said noted urban planner Marco
\nKusumawijaya.<\/p>\n
\"The more pedestrians the better, as this means more people
\nare using public transportation,\" he told The Jakarta Post on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
According to Marco, Jakarta has long based its development on
\nroads to accommodate private vehicles. Sidewalks are ignored in
\nfavor of roads and are not considered an integral part of them.<\/p>\n
\"You can see that the asphalt (parts of) streets are managed
\nby the public works agency, while sidewalks are overseen by the
\nparks agency,\" he said. Pedestrian walkways should be seen as
\nsomething essential, not a luxury, he added.<\/p>\n
The city administration started in May a Rp 10 billion
\n(US$1.09 million) sidewalk rejuvenation project along Jl. Thamrin
\nin Central Jakarta. The paving blocks are being renewed and most
\nof the sidewalks widened to six meters.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't matter where they start (the sidewalk revamping).
\nWhat's important is that it doesn't stop there,\" said Marco.<\/p>\n
Urban planning lecturer from Trisakti University Yayat
\nSupriyatna concurred, saying that Jl. Thamrin could serve as a
\nmodel for other areas.<\/p>\n
\"People need to see that it is possible to have comfortable
\nsidewalks used by pedestrians,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jakartans often have to compete with vendors, parked cars and
\nabusive motorcyclists when using the often skimpy sidewalks.<\/p>\n
Yayat said the type of agreements reached between the
\nadministration and building owners and managers could also be
\nused in other areas.<\/p>\n
This is the third attempt by the administration to rejuvenate
\nJl. Thamrin sidewalks. The first and second failed, due
\nrespectively to the economic crisis in 1997 and resistance from
\nbuilding owners in 2000.<\/p>\n
The parks agency, which supervises the project, said that 22
\nof 32 buildings along the street had agreed to move their
\nboundaries back by 0.6 meter to 3.5 meters to accommodate the
\nwidened sidewalks. They will retain ownership of the land
\nconcerned and be exempt from land and building tax on the space
\nused by the public.<\/p>\n
Yayat reminded the administration to plant leafy trees to
\nserve as a canopy. \"People won't be too eager to walk without
\nsome kind of shade.\"<\/p>\n
Head of the parks agency's green spaces division Mochamad
\nSetyadi said four-meter-tall sapodilla and glodogan trees would
\nbe planted every five meters along the walkways.<\/p>\n
\"Those parts of the sidewalk that are six meters wide will
\nhave two rows of trees.\"<\/p>\n
A survey, carried out in 2002 and involving 250 pedestrians in
\nWest Jakarta, found that besides wider sidewalks, passersby cited
\na need for facilities such as benches, trash cans, street lamps,
\npublic telephones, toilets and plants.<\/p>\n
Setyadi said a 1.5-kilometer stretch of Jl. Thamrin would be
\nequipped with street lamps. However, trash cans, telephone booths
\nand benches would be installed next year. The project is expected
\nto be completed by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
A similar plan, with more generous, eight-meter wide
\nsidewalks, will be implemented along Jl. Sudirman, also in
\nCentral Jakarta, in 2005.<\/p>",
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