One-Way System Deemed a Potential Solution to Alleviate Lebak Bulus Traffic Congestion

JAKARTA - Traffic congestion in the Lebak Bulus area of South Jakarta is a frequent complaint from residents, occurring almost daily, particularly during morning and evening rush hours. Urban planning expert Yayat Supriatna assesses that the implementation of a one-way system has the potential to become a solution for alleviating congestion in Lebak Bulus, which is triggered by dense intersections and high vehicle volumes. According to him, the distance between intersections that is too close makes traffic flow difficult, causing vehicles to often get stuck even when only covering short distances. “The problem is that the traffic points are too close to each other, then there are many intersections, high volume. So the only way is with a one-way system,” he said when contacted on Wednesday (18/3/2026). He even claims to have applied a similar scheme in another area with comparable characteristics. “I once tried to apply it in Bogor City, around the Bogor Botanical Gardens, it’s the same. I made it one-way because the intersection points were too close,” he said. However, he reminds that the implementation of such a system cannot be done haphazardly. Careful calculations are needed to avoid creating new impacts on other road sections. “But to make it flow, the other sides of the road must be considered. Whether there is narrowing on the other sides or other densities that could affect it,” he explained. “Because if it’s not controlled like that, it will have the same impact on other places because the vehicle speed will increase similarly,” he added. He emphasises the importance of data-based studies, such as vehicle volume calculations and road capacity, before applying traffic engineering. “That’s why there must be traffic counting on the road load. Because if suddenly there are no traffic lights, everything enters, that road will also be overwhelmed,” he said. In addition, the length of the road section also becomes a determining factor for the success of the one-way system.