Traffic police overwhelmed

JAKARTA (JP): Traffic in the city is so bad that the police have conceded "defeat" in their struggle to ease congestion in many areas.

"We will raise our hands (in a gesture of powerlessness) whenever the people raise the demand that we make traffic flow freely everywhere," Chief of the City Police traffic section Col. Soeroso said on Monday.

The best the police can do, Soeroso said, is to remind road users to abide by traffic rules and to be patient.

Soeroso was commenting on Jakartans' complaints about worsening traffic congestion, especially during rush hours, in practically every corner of the city.

Jakarta has approximately 10 million people and more than 2.5 million motor vehicles.

"It is difficult to ease congestion in Jakarta, no matter how hard the police try. The best way would be to build subways and more roads," he said.

A recent survey conducted by the road transportation agency showed that traffic gridlock at 71 main intersections in the city are almost impossible to ease during peak hours, Kompas reported yesterday. (pan)