'Plaza Semanggi will make traffic worse'

A new shopping mall, called Plaza Semanggi, is being developed on the corner of Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto in Central Jakarta, near the Semanggi cloverleaf. Some experts, and most casual observers, are certain that the development will make traffic in the area even worse than it already is. Despite these fears, construction of the building began even before the city administration completed a traffic impact analysis. What do the people have to say about the situation?

Widyawati Djuana, 29, was born in Jember, East Java, and has been in Jakarta for 11 years. She works at a financial firm on Jl. Sudirman.

"I think the developer should think twice before constructing a mall in the area of the Semanggi cloverleaf. It must be kept in mind that vehicles from many different directions pass through the Semanggi cloverleaf. Building a mall there could worsen the traffic on the thoroughfares, especially after work hours.

Look at Ratu Plaza (on Jl. Sudirman), which causes heavy traffic along the road. I cannot imagine how people could get on buses after work if a mall is built in Semanggi.

However, personally I have no objections to the construction. That is mainly because my boyfriend rents a house in Bendungan Hilir, which is near the area, so it will be easy for us to go shopping."

A.G. Eka Wenats Wuryanto, 32, a lecturer at Atma Jaya University, located near the Plaza Semanggi site. He lives in Jatiwaringin, East Jakarta.

"From an economic point of view, the would-be Plaza Semanggi will create some very lucrative business in the area. The location is very strategic.

However, I totally disagree with the plan (to build the shopping center).

The shopping center is being developed without any consideration of other important aspects.

The location is inappropriate. I cannot imagine how it will influence students at the university, which is just next to the new mall.

It will more or less affect the education process at the institution. If I may say, it is sure to impede the teaching and learning process."

Yanti, 23, an employee at a multinational company on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta. She lives in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta.

"I'm glad that a new mall is being built, so I can go there and do some window shopping on Saturdays and Sundays.

Maybe the mall developer thinks there is a chance to attract buyers despite all the other shopping malls already open in the city. I don't know.

It will also create new job opportunities. So I think it is good since there are so many unemployed people here.

New traffic jams? Probably the traffic police can manage the traffic so the mall will not create any new traffic congestion. But traffic jams are common here. Me and probably everybody else are used to the traffic." --JP