Developer plans to provide alternative route to Glodok
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
In an attempt to improve access to the frequently jammed business district of Glodok, a developer of a new shopping center is planning to provide an alternative access road to the area and a parking building.
Once a lucrative business area, the West Jakarta district has been losing customers because of congestion on entrance road Jl. Hayam Wuruk, caused by minivans and on-street parking, and the three-in-one traffic policy, businesspeople say.
In its development of the Lindeteves Trade Center (LTC), PT Citra Gemilang Nusantara plans to build a set of two-lane streets and bridges to connect the surrounding roads of Jl. Labu, Jl. Blustru and Jl. Mangga Besar I with the shopping center's backcourt.
LTC chief executive officer Hadi Satyagraha said the new infrastructure "will also provide an alternative route for customers and motorists passing the area during the 3-in-1 policy period."
"It is our contribution to the area," he said. The developer had also coordinated with Jakarta's Public Works and Transportation agencies about the plan.
The LTC will be located just some 200 meters from the area's main shopping centers of Hayam Wuruk Indah (HWI) Lindeteves, Harco Glodok, Orion Plaza, Glodok Market, Glodok Plaza and the Metro Glodok Bridge, which runs over Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
The traders have managed to convince Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso to consider revising the three-in-one traffic policy that they say has severely affected their sales since its launch in January. They proposed new hours for the policy from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m, to allow more time for customers to shop in the area.
The current three-in-one policy runs from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and the administration has offered to delay the afternoon shift by half an hour, from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
But some traders expressed their doubts the developer's plans would bring much improvement to the area.
Surya, an electronics appliance vendor at Harco Glodok, said the backstreet access would not help if other building operators in the area did not cooperate to create alternative streets that ran parallel with Jl. Hayam Wuruk.
Bing, a computer vendor in nearby Mangga Dua, said many of his fellow vendors in Glodok had chosen to relocate due to worsening business.
"From what they told me, business is scarcely profitable there because of the recent conditions," he said. "They are also moving because the entire area is being renovated."