No speedy end to parking problems
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)