Police want to close toll gates to speed traffic

JAKARTA: Police said several toll gates in the city should be closed permanently to reduce road congestion.

The police’s traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Condro Kirono said Wednesday that the Semanggi 1 entry toll gate, the Semanggi 2 exit toll gate and the Tebet 2 entry toll gate were three of several gates that caused congestion on nearby roads.

“Semanggi 2 is too close to the Sudirman Central Business District [SCBD], which causes road congestion because vehicles exiting the district will meet vehicles leaving the exit toll gate,” he said.

Jakarta Transportation Agency’s traffic management division head Muhammad Akbar said he would support the plan but further preparations were needed before it was implemented.

“We want to close the Semanggi 1 toll gate because our evaluation shows that it has been causing jams,” Akbar said, adding that the service quality of the Semanggi 2 toll gate would have to be increased accordingly.

He said that a meeting between the police, toll operator PT Jasa Marga, the Indonesian Toll Road Authority (BPJT), the Public Works Agency and the Transportation Agency would be held to discuss the plan.

Jasa Marga corporate secretary Okke Marlina said that her company would evaluate each recommended toll gate closure.

“There should be other solutions to reduce traffic jams than closing toll gates permanently,” she said.

“If there is no better solution, we will forward the recommendation to close the gates to the Public Works Ministry,” she added. — JP