Tangerang commuters suffer atypical traffic

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.