Tangerang Traffic chaotic

Tangerang Traffic chaotic

TANGERANG (JP): Traffic on a number of the city's major
streets is becoming increasingly chaotic with congestion a daily
dilemma.

Police officers assigned to regulate traffic flow can do
little to alleviate the snarls that can trap cars in endless
lines.

The worst congestion occurs at intersections in Karawaci,
Cikokol and Shinta, as well as along Jl. Daan Mogot, from the
State Electricity Company's branch office up to the Cisadane
crossroads.

"Driving from Jl. Imam Bonjol in Karawaci to downtown
Tangerang, a matter of only a few hundred meters, frequently
takes more than an hour," Munadi, the driver of a public transit
mini-van, said over the weekend.

He said the traffic jams peak between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. when
people are heading for their place of work in privately owned
cars and on public transit vehicles. This crowded conditions of
the streets are worsened by the many school children going to
their schools.

"We are frequently forced to drive our vehicles a bit
indiscriminately so as to enable us to reach the destinations
quicker. Without doing this, we cannot make enough income to pay
our daily rental fees," said Sembiring, a bus driver serving the
Tangerang-Cikokol route.

He said that the traffic condition is sometimes aggravated by
electricity blackouts, which frequently happen in the area.

The Tangerang administration has so far earmarked Rp 1 billion
(US$454,545) for the construction a new bridge linking Jl. Daan
Mogot and Jl. Otista with the aim of easing the traffic jams.

The bridge currently under construction is expected to reduce
the heavy traffic burden caused by vehicles from Jakarta, Serpong
and Ciledug passing through Tangerang. (13/hhr)