Motorists! Avoid certain major roads this morning

Motorists! Avoid certain major roads this morning

JAKARTA (JP): City Police have asked motorists to refrain from
driving on certain major streets and toll roads for one hour this
morning while they rehearse the convoy of the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) delegates.

"The general rehearsal will be carried out from 8 to 9 a.m.
but we'll start blocking the streets and toll roads 15 minutes
earlier," secretary of the City Traffic Police Directorate Lt.
Col. FX Sunarno said here yesterday.

Sunarno called on all Jakartans, in particular those who
normally take the blockaded routes to get to work, to drive one
hour before or after the scheduled rehearsal.

"The route of motorists taking the rehearsal roads will be
blockaded," he reminded.

Today's rehearsal will begin from the tollroad in Tomang
heading to Bogor via the Jagorawi tollroad in Cibubur. The
"delegates", to be picked up from various star-rated hotels, will
pass Jl. Lapangan Banteng Barat, Jl. Pejambon, Jl. Medan Merdeka
Timur, Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Jl. M.H.
Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman and pass through the tollroad in Semanggi.

Head of the directorate Col. Soeroso said in a statement that
during today's rehearsal, the flow of traffic heading from
Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta to Jl. Sudirman and downtown Kota
will be shifted to Jl. Kyai Maja, Jl. Trunojoyo, Jl. P. Tendean
and Jl. Rasuna Said. Motorists from Tanah Abang heading for
Pondok Pinang area in South Jakarta are advised to go through the
Pejompongan artery road.

Motorists using Jl. Sisingamangaraja and Jl. Pattimura will be
detoured to Jl. Asia Afrika, heading towards the Pejompongan
artery road to Tanah Abang.

Those who enter Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin will be blocked,
Soeroso said.

Col. Soeroso said in the statement that traffic flowing to the
southern part of the city will be shifted as follows: from Jl.
Buncit Raya to Jl. Rasuna Said and Pasar Minggu Raya to Jl.
Supomo. Those from Jl. Dewi Sartika will be re-routed, depending
on the traffic situation, before being shifted to Jl. Otista.
Those from Kramat Jati will be let into Cililitan prior to being
shifted to Jl. DI Panjaitan.

The shifting schedule of traffic coming from the western part
is plotted as follows: those from Kebon Jeruk tollroad will be
detoured before being shifted to Jl. Tomang Raya passing through
Jl. Suryopranoto and Jl. Juanda. Traffics from Jl. Daan Mogot
will be shifted to Jl. Kyai Tapa and Hasyim Ashari. Those from
Pluit will be shifted to Jl. Kyai Tapa, Jl. Tomang Raya and Jl.
KS Tubun. The Grogol-Cawang tollroad will be closed during the
rehearsal.

"Motorists heading from the west to Cawang are urged to pass
through Jl. Casablanca, Jl. Kampung Melayu and Jl. DI Panjaitan,"
Soeroso said.

Traffic from Kota heading to south will be directed and
shifted to Jl. Juanda, Jl. Gunung Sahari, Jl. Hasyim Ashari and
Jl. Suryopranoto.

Those from Tanjung Priok tollroad heading to Bogor or Bandung
are advised to take Jl. Raya Bogor and the Jakarta-Cikampek
tollroad because the Jagorawi tollroad will be closed during the
rehearsal.

Motorists from Bekasi heading to downtown Kota are asked to
take the Tanjung Priok-Pramuka tollroad or Jl. Cempaka Putih.

Soeroso said that during the rehearsal (from Jakarta to Bogor
and vice versa), the toll gates on the blockaded highways will be
temporarily closed.

Today's rehearsal is applied in line with the scheduled
transporting of the delegates back and forth to the APEC forum
summit in Bogor on Nov. 15.

Similar efforts were carried out over three consecutive days
beginning last Friday, though no roads or toll roads were
blockaded.

According to Sunarno, the transportation activities on the
other days will be conducted by randomly blocking a number of
toll gates, especially at a time when official convoys are to
pass through.

"We hope that people will reduce the use of their own cars
during those days," he said and asked employers and company
directors to understand should their staff fail to turn up on
time.

During the first two arrival days, several roads will be
temporarily closed to let the delegates arrive at their hotels on
schedule. (bsr)

Days off -- Page 2

Map -- Page 3