Jl. Thamrin sidewalk widening project to kick off in May
Jl. Thamrin sidewalk widening project to kick off in May
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Parks Agency announced on Friday that the sidewalk
widening project along Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta would take
place in stages beginning in May.
Sidewalks along the street will be widened from the current
width of between two and 2.5 meters to between five and eight
meters.
"The project is aimed at providing more room and comfortable
spaces for pedestrians," said agency head Sarwo Handhayani.
The agency has allocated Rp 10 billion (US$1.2 million) for
the project. It has appointed a team of experts to provide the
concept and design for the widened sidewalks.
The team chairman, Mohamad Danisworo of the Bandung Institute
of Technology, told The Jakarta Post by phone that the wider
sidewalks would be made of concrete blocks.
"We will use concrete blocks instead of paving blocks to
ensure the sidewalk remains dry (when it rains). Paving blocks
would allow the sidewalks to become drenched in water, and after
a certain period of time they would begin to crack and become
rugged," he said.
He said greenery would be planted along the building side of
the sidewalks to beautify the area.
Since the widened sidewalks will take part of the land
belonging to the buildings along the road, the agency and the
expert team have been negotiating with about 30 building owners.
"We managed to reach an agreement on the project with some of
the building owners around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
That is why we are starting the project in front of the Hotel
Indonesia," Danisworo said.
The agency has been lobbying building owners since last year
to give part of their land for the sidewalk widening, and also to
help finance the project. Many of the owners have been hesitant,
citing security reasons and financial problems.
"In our original idea, we asked all of the buildings to
dismantle their fences. The aim was to provide public access to
private properties.
"However, we have had to compromise with the building owners
and managements on their security concerns by allowing them to
keep the fences," Danisworo said.
Many building owners began to fence in their properties
following the bloody riots in 1998.
The city administration previously asked building owners to
create landscape gardens in the areas between buildings and along
the sidewalk.
Bylaw No. 7/1991 on buildings in Jakarta stipulates that
fences for nonresidential buildings must be lower than 1.5 meters
in height and allow the buildings to be seen from the outside.
Danisworo also said some buildings were built too close to the
street and it would be impossible to widen the sidewalks in front
of them, citing the United Nations Representative Office and the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.
He named the Hotel Nikko, the Japanese Embassy and Plaza
Indonesia as buildings that had been built in accordance with
regulations.
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Jakarta Parks Agency announced on Friday that the sidewalk
widening project along Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta would take
place in stages beginning in May.
Sidewalks along the street will be widened from the current
width of between two and 2.5 meters to between five and eight
meters.
"The project is aimed at providing more room and comfortable
spaces for pedestrians," said agency head Sarwo Handhayani.
The agency has allocated Rp 10 billion (US$1.2 million) for
the project. It has appointed a team of experts to provide the
concept and design for the widened sidewalks.
The team chairman, Mohamad Danisworo of the Bandung Institute
of Technology, told The Jakarta Post by phone that the wider
sidewalks would be made of concrete blocks.
"We will use concrete blocks instead of paving blocks to
ensure the sidewalk remains dry (when it rains). Paving blocks
would allow the sidewalks to become drenched in water, and after
a certain period of time they would begin to crack and become
rugged," he said.
He said greenery would be planted along the building side of
the sidewalks to beautify the area.
Since the widened sidewalks will take part of the land
belonging to the buildings along the road, the agency and the
expert team have been negotiating with about 30 building owners.
"We managed to reach an agreement on the project with some of
the building owners around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
That is why we are starting the project in front of the Hotel
Indonesia," Danisworo said.
The agency has been lobbying building owners since last year
to give part of their land for the sidewalk widening, and also to
help finance the project. Many of the owners have been hesitant,
citing security reasons and financial problems.
"In our original idea, we asked all of the buildings to
dismantle their fences. The aim was to provide public access to
private properties.
"However, we have had to compromise with the building owners
and managements on their security concerns by allowing them to
keep the fences," Danisworo said.
Many building owners began to fence in their properties
following the bloody riots in 1998.
The city administration previously asked building owners to
create landscape gardens in the areas between buildings and along
the sidewalk.
Bylaw No. 7/1991 on buildings in Jakarta stipulates that
fences for nonresidential buildings must be lower than 1.5 meters
in height and allow the buildings to be seen from the outside.
Danisworo also said some buildings were built too close to the
street and it would be impossible to widen the sidewalks in front
of them, citing the United Nations Representative Office and the
Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.
He named the Hotel Nikko, the Japanese Embassy and Plaza
Indonesia as buildings that had been built in accordance with
regulations.