Sidewalks still a luxury for pedestrians

Sidewalks still a luxury for pedestrians

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The number of pedestrians in the street, whose voices are often
drowned by the roar of vehicles, indicates how much public
transportation is being used, said noted urban planner Marco
Kusumawijaya.

"The more pedestrians the better, as this means more people
are using public transportation," he told The Jakarta Post on
Thursday.

According to Marco, Jakarta has long based its development on
roads to accommodate private vehicles. Sidewalks are ignored in
favor of roads and are not considered an integral part of them.

"You can see that the asphalt (parts of) streets are managed
by the public works agency, while sidewalks are overseen by the
parks agency," he said. Pedestrian walkways should be seen as
something essential, not a luxury, he added.

The city administration started in May a Rp 10 billion
(US$1.09 million) sidewalk rejuvenation project along Jl. Thamrin
in Central Jakarta. The paving blocks are being renewed and most
of the sidewalks widened to six meters.

"It doesn't matter where they start (the sidewalk revamping).
What's important is that it doesn't stop there," said Marco.

Urban planning lecturer from Trisakti University Yayat
Supriyatna concurred, saying that Jl. Thamrin could serve as a
model for other areas.

"People need to see that it is possible to have comfortable
sidewalks used by pedestrians," he said.

Jakartans often have to compete with vendors, parked cars and
abusive motorcyclists when using the often skimpy sidewalks.

Yayat said the type of agreements reached between the
administration and building owners and managers could also be
used in other areas.

This is the third attempt by the administration to rejuvenate
Jl. Thamrin sidewalks. The first and second failed, due
respectively to the economic crisis in 1997 and resistance from
building owners in 2000.

The parks agency, which supervises the project, said that 22
of 32 buildings along the street had agreed to move their
boundaries back by 0.6 meter to 3.5 meters to accommodate the
widened sidewalks. They will retain ownership of the land
concerned and be exempt from land and building tax on the space
used by the public.

Yayat reminded the administration to plant leafy trees to
serve as a canopy. "People won't be too eager to walk without
some kind of shade."

Head of the parks agency's green spaces division Mochamad
Setyadi said four-meter-tall sapodilla and glodogan trees would
be planted every five meters along the walkways.

"Those parts of the sidewalk that are six meters wide will
have two rows of trees."

A survey, carried out in 2002 and involving 250 pedestrians in
West Jakarta, found that besides wider sidewalks, passersby cited
a need for facilities such as benches, trash cans, street lamps,
public telephones, toilets and plants.

Setyadi said a 1.5-kilometer stretch of Jl. Thamrin would be
equipped with street lamps. However, trash cans, telephone booths
and benches would be installed next year. The project is expected
to be completed by the end of this year.

A similar plan, with more generous, eight-meter wide
sidewalks, will be implemented along Jl. Sudirman, also in
Central Jakarta, in 2005.