Funding woes means Jakarta’s pedestrian bridges are unsafe

The Jakarta Police are cracking down on jaywalkers as part of an operation to reduce road deaths. Meanwhile, a lack of maintenance funding for city’s footbridges might poses a bigger safety threat.

Most of the city’s pedestrian bridges were steel-based, which was less safe than concrete, University of Indonesia civil engineering lecturer, Hengki Wibowo Ashadi said.

Moreover, most of the bridges suffered from corrosion and loose screws, making them unsafe to walk on, he said. And the condition of the bridges would continue to deteriorate due to weather and constant use, Hengki told The Jakarta Post recently.

A bridge in front of Jakarta Police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, for example, lacked several screws and had several holes through which cars and motorcycles passing underneath could be seen when the Post observed it recently.

Benhard Hutajulu, the traffic engineering chief of the Jakarta Transportation Agency, said budget limitations hindered efforts to keep the city’s 253 bridges in good condition, despite serious problems.

He added that the agency received only Rp 500 million [US$58,500] a year for non-Transjakarta busway bridge maintenance for all five of the city’s municipalities and between Rp 186 million and Rp 270 million for Transjakarta busway bridge upkeep. “We cannot repair all the broken bridges at the same time,” Bernhard said.

There are 122 non-busway bridges in Jakarta’s five municipalities — 29 in Central Jakarta, 35 in West Jakarta, 7 in North Jakarta, 20 in East Jakarta and 31 in South Jakarta, according to the Jakarta Transportation Agency.

The five municipalities also have 131 busway bridges along Transjakarta’s 10 busway corridors — 29 in Central Jakarta, 27 in West Jakarta, 8 in North Jakarta, 33 in East Jakarta and 34 in South Jakarta.

Hengki said that he would need fives times the current allocation provided by the administration to properly maintain the bridges.

“The Rp 100 million the administration allocated for each municipality is way too small — especially given that some of the bridges are in need of serious repair,” he said.

Hengki said that a bridge would last for 20 years if built properly. “Additionally, a well-built bridge will not require much money for maintenance.”

A bridge should also be at least 2.4 meters wide to accommodate people without jostling, he said.

“The bridge should also provide a wider space on landings so that people can rest for a while before continuing to climb the next set of stairs. Additionally, they should provide elevators so that disabled people can also use them.”

Jakarta Traffic Police operations chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Latif told the Post that jaywalkers were scolded, but not ticketed or arrested, during the Patuh Jaya operation.

Latif said officers recorded 69,509 violations during the 10-day operation — along with 173 accidents and 14 deaths.

The 2011 iteration of Operation Patuh Jaya was launched on July 11 to enforce traffic laws and reduce road deaths. During the operation, officers will focus on private vehicles and public transit drivers, motorcyclists, jaywalkers, street vendors, beggars, vagrants and on-street parking attendants. (msa)