Pasar Baru traders tell govt to put infrastructure in place

Pasar Baru traders tell govt to put infrastructure in place

JAKARTA (JP): Traders at the newly designated tourist shopping
destination of Pasar Baru in Central Jakarta said on Saturday
that the city administration must make a commitment to
establishing infrastructure in the 575-meter-long shopping area.

Chairman of the Association of Pasar Baru Shop Owners,
Burhanudin Ie, said the construction of an alternative road --
consisting of a bridge connecting Jl. Gunung Sahari and Jl. Pasar
Baru Timur, both in Central Jakarta -- was urgently needed,
especially as the peak season of Christmas and the post-fasting
month Idul Fitri celebration were approaching.

"Roads leading to Pasar Baru are always crowded on regular
days," he said.

"An alternative road could be expected to solve the problem,
moreover the festive seasons of Christmas and Idul Fitri are
coming."

He said the city administration's intention to make the
historic complex -- believed to date from a market established
around 1820 and known as Passer Baroe -- as a tourist destination
could not be accomplished unless the annoyances of traffic
congestion and lack of parking were solved.

Burhanudin said most customers complained about the
difficulties in reaching the shopping complex and finding a
parking space.

With several weeks before the Christmas and Idul Fitri
celebrations, Pasar Baru was flooded with shoppers on Saturday,
creating traffic jams on the parallel streets of Jl. Samanhudi
and Jl. Pos, which are connected by the shopping arcade.

The traffic congestion was unavoidable as many public
transportation vehicles stopped close to the shopping complex's
two entrances to drop off and pick up passengers. Crowding was
compounded by the sidewalk vendors occupying parts of the street
and the many parked vehicles.

The 575-meter-long Jl. Pasar Baru, a home to some 120 shops
offering a variety of merchandise and services, was declared a
tourist shopping destination by the city administration on Oct.
10. Many considered it part of the administration's ambitious
campaign to spruce up Jakarta's tourism image.

The designation, which was marked by a program of musical
performances, successfully attracted visitors. Only weeks later,
however, the complex is once again swamped with shoppers and
appears even more chaotic due to the arrival of many more
sidewalk vendors.

Burhanudin said occasional artistic performances were not the
answer to the area's problems.

"Such festivities will mean nothing if public infrastructure,
like roads and parking lots, are not put in order."

A shop owner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said
separately that the city administration was too hasty in
declaring the complex a tourist shopping destination.

"I think Governor Sutiyoso does not have a thorough plan for
Pasar Baru. Perhaps he was merely seeking popularity by trying to
showing that business has recovered in the city." (ind)