TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
City shortens Car-Free Day amid safety concern
Following the deadly accident on Jl
Change Size
Following the deadly accident on Jl. Letjen Suprapto last week, the city administration has decided to reduce the hours dedicated to Car-Free Day, starting this Sunday.
City Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) head Peni Susanti said the monthly event would now run from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m rather than from 6. a.m. to 2 p.m.
"We will also ask for more traffic police to be deployed to ensure safety during the event," Peni told reporters Thursday.
On last week's Car-Free Day, 5-year-old Hari Ardiansyah died on Jl Letjen. Soeprapto, Central Jakarta, after a speeding Mayasari Bakti bus hit him while he was crossing the road to chase his ball.
Peni said earlier her board would also improve the event's standard procedures, by placing more lane dividers and road markers for operating public buses.
Peni said the event was shortened to take on board the results from a BPLHD review of the event.
"Our survey concludes most Jakartans prefer shorter hours *for the Car-Free Day event*," she said, adding many motorists complained they had to look for alternative roads, as more roads were closed for motorized vehicles during the event.
The administration introduced the program for the first time in September 2007, coinciding with the International Car-Free Day, which falls on Sept. 22. Car-Free Day was then made into a monthly event on city thoroughfares, including Jl. Jend. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin.
The event has recently expanded to other roads, including Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta and Jl. Letjen Suprapto.
Another official with the BPLHD, Joni Tagor Harahap, said the program often led to gridlocks in other roads not included in the event.
"Jakartans are still not ready to put up with eight hours without driving their cars," Joni said.
The agency claimed the program had eased air pollution in the city.
The BPLHD 2008 data shows dust particles in the air on Car-Free Day fell by 34 percent on average, carbon monoxide by 67 percent and nitrogen oxide by 80 percent. (JP/dis)
