New roads promote car sales, expert says

New roads promote car sales, expert says

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The construction of new roads will encourage people to buy cars
instead of using public transportation and will not solve the
worsening traffic jams in the capital, said transportation
observer Darmaningtyas of the Transportation Institute (Intrans).

"Wider new roads, flyovers and underpasses will only attract
Jakartans to buy cars. This will lead to more problems," he said
after a seminar on the accessibility of the city for pedestrians
and people using non-motorized vehicles, organized by Pelangi
green organization.

The city administration has been constructing six flyovers and
two underpasses at eight locations across the capital since last
year. The construction has caused traffic congestion during peak
hours.

Darmaningtyas said that the absence of comfortable public
transportation has also prompted Jakartans to use private cars.

"There are a great number of private cars but they only
transport a small number of passengers compared to public
transportation," he said.

Data provided by the city police traffic unit indicates that
there are around 1.3 million passenger cars, 403,000 cargo cars
or trucks, 315,000 buses and 2.6 million motorcycles in Greater
Jakarta.

Separately, the city police traffic unit chief Sr. Comr.
Sulistyo Ishak said that the uncontrolled rise in the number of
motorized vehicles has long been considered one of the main
causes of traffic problems in the city.

"The heavy traffic congestion makes motorists drive recklessly
and most of the time they ignore traffic signs," he told The
Jakarta Post.

Furthermore, police say 85 percent of traffic accidents in the
capital are caused by reckless driving or violations of traffic
regulations.

Fatal traffic accidents in Jakarta have increased by 37
percent to 334 casualties as of August this year, compared to a
total of 243 fatalities in the same period last year.

Darmaningtyas said that the administration must improve the
public transportation system and set restrictions to discourage
people from using private cars.

Another speaker, Andi Rahmah from Pelangi, said that the
transportation system prioritizes motorists; new roads are being
constructed while the need for sidewalks and zebra crossings for
pedestrians has been ignored.

"Sixty five percent of fatalities in traffic accidents are
pedestrians and 35 percent of those are children," he said.