Central parking lot to ease traffic

Wasti Atmojo ,  Contributor ,  Denpasar   |  Tue, 09/23/2008 10:00 AM  |  Bali

The Denpasar administration is building a central parking facility to ease chronic traffic jams around the city's two largest markets, Badung and Kumbasari.

The two markets, which are separated by the Badung river, lie in the downtown area of Gajah Mada. The densely populated area is the oldest commercial district in the city.

Traders in Badung market sell various commodities, including fresh meat and vegetables, while those in Kumbasari largely offer souvenirs and handicrafts.

The centralized parking facility is being constructed on a 20-acre plot south of Kumbasari market. The plot was previously the site of Peken Payuk, a traditional market, the name of which derives from payuk (earthenware jug), which is the main commodity sold there.

Construction work on the two-story facility is already under way. The first floor will be allocated for local traders while the second will serve as a parking area with a capacity of up to 50 cars.

The administration also plans to build a parking area that will hold 150 motorcycles around the facility.

Construction began in August and is scheduled to be completed in December. The facility is expected to be operational at the start of the new year, the Denpasar administration says.

"We are also constructing a bridge that will connect the facility with the market. It will be 30 meters long and seven meters wide," a senior official of the city's Public Works Agency, I Gede Suarsejaya, said Monday.

"We are also renovating the smaller bridge that connects Badung and Kumbasari markets," he added.

The city has allocated a budget of Rp 5 billion to finance the projects.

Suarsejaya said the construction of the parking facility was part of the administration's ongoing effort to tackle the city's chronic traffic jams and shortage of parking space.

The lack of parking space has forced residents to park their cars along the sides of roads, which has increased congestion.

"We will construct new parking areas without changing the original function of the site," said Suarsejaya, adding that the Peken Payuk parking area would serves as a model for the approach.

He said that in Peken Payuk, the first floor would remain a trading area and that the second floor would be converted into a a parking area.

The city administration also plans to construct next year an underground parking area in Badung market to accommodate up to 60 cars.

"It will be directly below the current parking area, which has a capacity of 80 cars," he said.

Once the underground facility is completed, the two parking areas will have a combined capacity of 140 cars, he added.

Separately, Denpasar's Deputy Mayor IB Rai Mantra said he hoped the new parking areas would encourage more motorists to frequent the markets.

"As the financial and tourism center, the two markets are important parts of the city's landscape," he said.

However, he said due to limited space in the city, the most suitable approach to creating more parking space was to build multi-story parking facilities.

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