No speedy end to parking problems
JAKARTA (JP): Jakartans continue to complain about their parking problems while at the same time exacerbating their daily difficulty of finding a spot to leave their vehicles.
And after years of seeking a solution to the city's parking crisis, the administration has issued no regulations or taken sanctions to serve as a guide to law enforcers and violators alike.
Last week however, the Central Jakarta mayoralty announced a plan to start raids against parking attendants who condone illegal parking.
Tugiman Supangkat, secretary of the mayoralty, was reported to have said that in planning the raids priority will be given to the city's main streets which have become congested because of illegal parking.
He added that cars parking in prohibited areas will be towed to a pool on Jalan Pemuda in East Jakarta. Owners will have to contact officers in charge of the pool and go through an on-site hearing to discuss the sanctions to be imposed for the violation.
Parking attendants advocating illegal parking will also be apprehended. Tugiman, however, refused to disclose precise plans regarding the raids' implementation.
Despite the government's prolonged attempts to tidy the city's parking mess, many residents are indifferent to existing regulations, as is apparent in their carefree attitude toward violating parking regulations, due to the scarcity of parking spaces as well as the time spent look for a legal parking spot.
Blatant violations are to be found all around the city.
On Jalan H. Agus Salim, for example, parents going to St. Theresia's private school in Central Jakarta freely park their cars alongside the nearby 'no parking' signs.
"Why should I bother about jamming traffic when the parking attendants are happy with the fee we give them and we are happy because we can park close to our destination," Linda, a mother of two children told the Post while continuing to relish some rujak fruit salad in her plush Nissan Cefiro.
Similarly, in the adjacent Jalan Lombok, where both the St. Theresia high school and Bellarminus elementary school are located, is gridlocked at the schools' starting and recess times. The narrow road is packed with food vendors trying to tempt waiting parents as well as drivers.
Vehicles belonging to officials at Jakarta City Hall on Jalan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta as well as at the Ministry of Public Works on Jalan Pattimura in South Jakarta are also often seen parked in violation of regulations.
Yanis, head of the public relations department at the Central Jakarta mayoralty, said that a long and arduous road lies ahead before any rules and regulations could become effective.
"Before we can take any action, we need to assess the results of studies conducted by the City Land Transportation Agency," Yanis told the Post, referring to the necessary coordination between the agency, the mayoralty and the Jakarta city police.
The agency is to take stock of and record congested areas as well as erect traffic signs to guide people to obey the rules, Yanis added.
As Yanis said, however, much still remains to be done; many people at the agency were confused when questioned about the studies mentioned by Yanis. (14)