Tangerang commuters suffer atypical traffic
Multa Fidrus, Tangerang
A mother tried her best to calm her one-year-old girl, but the baby would not stop crying.
Drenched with sweat, Nani, 23, and her baby girl, were passengers of a public minivan trapped in heavy traffic on Jl. Thamrin in Kebon Nanas, Tangerang, last Saturday.
"She cries because she cannot stand the heat and the exhaust from diesel fuel," said the resident of Serpong while apologizing to other passengers for her daughter's cries.
Tangerang commuters are witness to how the municipal administration has turned a blind eye on the chaotic traffic problems at several points, including Kebon Nanas, which is the main access to the toll road to Jakarta and Merak, Banten province.
The Jakarta Post saw that drivers of public minivans, city and intercity buses stopped in the Kebon Nanas area and took as much time as they liked to load up passengers. Meanwhile, a long queue of other vehicles behind them honked incessantly.
Motorcycle taxis, or ojek, and pedicabs also took up part of the road, along with the ever-present street vendors.
But the condition has worsened because the Tangerang administration has just begun constructing the long-awaited Rp 463 million (US$51,444) pedestrian bridge.
That Saturday, the Post observed five policemen posted at Kebon Nanas to direct traffic playing chess and chatting.
Many residents blame the administration for its failure to cope with the traffic problems and further accused officials of paying no attention to their need for convenient roads across the municipality.
"We pay road taxes every year, but it's very difficult to find and enjoy a good road -- without congestion or potholes. It takes me 30 minutes just to pass through Kebon Nanas, but which only takes a motorist five minutes at night. With such circumstances, what have we gotten in return as taxpayers?" Dhonny, a resident of the Kebon Nanas state secretariat housing complex, told the Post.
Dhonny further said that traffic jams were not the only problems -- there are no sidewalks or zebra crossings for pedestrians.
Tangerang is a buffer town of the capital city, but many observers deem that its administration has failed to anticipate the number of private vehicles entering and leaving the town daily.
The usually congested points, besides Kebon Nanas, are the Cileduk intersection, Pasar Bengkok, Rawa Bokor in Batu Ceper district, the Islamic intersection in Karawaci, the Serpong toll exit, the Sewan intersection in Neglasari district, Jatake in Jatiuwung and Cikokol Market on Jl. Sudirman.
Syamsul Muarif of non-governmental organization Concern for the Nation said the group had asked Tangerang Mayor Wahidin Halim to reroute public transportation and to monitor the vehicles' roadworthiness.
"We hope soon to have a satisfactory response, because the planned construction of the Jakarta-Merak and Bekasi-Merak highways will make it easier to reach Tangerang and will make it even more crowded," he said.