Foul air may delay toll roads
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Will more toll roads really help sort out the city's congestion woes, or will they only lead to more pollution?
This question finally seems to have occurred to Governor Sutiyoso as he is shortly to assign the newly-established Jakarta Transportation Council (DKT) to review the idea of constructing new toll roads.
Late in May, the city administration said it planned to construct six new innercity toll roads. It is estimated that the total cost of the new roads will be at least Rp 23 trillion (US$2.4 billion).
The envisaged turnpikes will link Bekasi and Kampung Melayu, Kampung Melayu and Tomang, Pasar Minggu and Casablanca, Rawabuaya and Sunter, Sunter and Pulogebang, Kemayoran and Kampung Melayu, Ulujami and Tanah Abang, and Kampung Melayu-Tomang-Duri Pulo.
"The council will review whether more, fewer or none at all are needed," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on air pollution control, held on Thursday.
The governor said that the number of motor vehicles in the capital had reached 4.5 million, with 600,000 more coming into the city from satellite towns during the day.
Furthermore, an average of 269 new vehicles hit the city's roads every day, compared to 138 per day in 2003.
DKT chairman Sutanto Soehodho said that constructing new highways instead of prioritizing mass public transportation would be counterproductive to both city's macro transportation plan and the implementation of the new pollution control bylaw.
The plan envisages the development of a proper mass transportation system, the limiting of the number of motor vehicles, and the expansion of the city's road network.
Sutanto said that prioritizing a variety of public transportation projects would provide greater benefit for the majority of Jakarta's residents, rather than just the owners of private vehicles.
Motor vehicles are the main contributors to air pollution in the city, accounting for about 70 percent of pollutants, including carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.
High concentrations of these substances cause various health problems, ranging from minor ones such as eye irritations to serious ones such as cancer and brain-cell damage.
The Air Pollution Control Bylaw, which is due to come into effect in February next year, requires all vehicles to undergo emission tests twice a year, and the presentation of an emission test certificate for vehicle registration purposes.
The bylaw also requires that unleaded gasoline be used in privately owned cars and compressed natural gas in public transportation vehicles. Smoking will also be prohibited in enclosed public places.
Implementation of the new regulations will require familiarization among the public, the training of enforcement personnel, and the putting in place of the necessary infrastructure and procedures for oversight and evaluation purposes.
The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency and non- governmental organizations working in the environmental field have come up with 90 detailed programs for the implementation and familiarization of the bylaw, but are still developing a timeframe and task distribution scheme. (003)