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.