Experts boo mishmash city traffic policies

Experts boo mishmash city traffic policies

Damar Harsanto and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Experts on urban transportation criticized on Thursday the city
administration's project to widen main thoroughfares Jl. Sudirman
and Jl. Thamrin, saying the project reflected the
administration's inconsistency in its so-called strategy to
improve public transportation.

"It seems the administration has bowed down to the demands of
private vehicle owners as it's now just half-heartedly supporting
its own busway project," Intrans transportation expert
Darmaningtyas told The Jakarta Post.

He was referring to Governor Sutiyoso's appeal for commuters
with private car to move to public transportation, particularly
the busway, to help alleviate traffic congestion and pollution.

Unfortunately, the busway, launched on Jan. 15, has instead
garnered criticism for causing more traffic as it has taken up
one of the fast lanes of the busy 12.9-kilometer corridor from
South Jakarta to Kota.

In an apparent answer to the critics, the administration is
planning to widen and readjust the width of the thoroughfares'
lanes by cutting liberally into the tree-lined median strips in
the center and the divider between the slow and fast lanes.

Architect and urban planner Marco Kusumawijaya called the
latest project "a setback", adding that the utility level of a
road is measured by how many people and goods -- not vehicles --
could be transported on it.

Transportation expert Alan Marino of Trisakti University took
the criticism a step further, seemingly implying that there could
be some perfidiousness in the works when he said, "the project's
high budget, however, is possibly the real reason that the
administration is insisting on it".

Commenting on the possibility of tree-lined medians being
cropped, environmentalist Ahmad Safrudin said it would just be
yet more confirmation that the administration was mathematically
challenged when it comes to calculating the 30 percent of open,
green spaces mandated by city regulations. According to a report
last year the amount of green space has been dropping for years
and it is now less than 10 percent.

On Thursday, the Post observed several sites along the median
strip of Jl. Sudirman being torn up.

Despite the criticism, City Public Works Agency head Fodly
Misbach defended the project, claiming it had been planned before
the launch of the busway.

He said that the purpose of the project was to make the idle
space more efficient along the arteries.

"That's the best, fastest fix as well as the cheapest
(solution for the traffic)," Fodly asserted.

"We did similar projects (felling trees and widening lanes) on
Jl. Sisingamangaraja and on Jl. Dr. Satrio, both in South
Jakarta, and there was no such criticism," he added.

In the Rp 15 billion (US$1.76 million) project, Fodly revealed
that his office would also rid the city of the lane dividers on
Jl. Thamrin.

"We will make the road similar to Jl. Medan Merdeka, which has
no fast-slow lane dividers," he said.