Bogor, West Java, stands out among other cities in the nation due to its greenery, fresh air and colonial-era architecture; features that have prompted Bogor Mayor Bima Arya to initiate a plan to designate the area around the Bogor Botanical Gardens as a heritage site.

Director of the spatial planning and development center at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), Ernan Rustiadi, said that the city was growing extremely fast and the population had risen to nearly 900,000 persons.

Ernan added that Bogor'€™s infrastructure development was not keeping up with the number of vehicles entering the city, triggering crippling traffic jams within the city'€™s borders. The increasing number of vehicles entering the city has also contributed to high levels of air pollution that undermine the city'€™s reputation as a restful respite from the bustle of Jakarta, just 55 kilometers to the north.

Ernan said that Bima'€™s plan to designate the area around the Bogor Botanical Gardens as a heritage site was one way he could rejuvenate the area. He added that Bima was mulling other measures, like relocating administrative buildings and the Bogor Legislative Council (DPRD) to demonstrate his commitment to easing traffic congestion in the city center.

He said that Bogor deserved to become a heritage city '€” a plan initially dreamed up Bima'€™s predecessor, Diani Budiarto '€” not only because Bogor had many historical sites, but also because it was a center for national and international agricultural, biological and forestry studies. Ernan cited the Center for International Forestry Research'€™s (CIFOR) headquarters as an example.

• Bogor officials seek heritage site status for its historical sites and buildings
• New status expected to help ease traffic jams and reduce air pollution in the town
• Legislative council building will be relocated

Separately, Bogor Legislative Council Deputy Speaker Jajat Sudrajat said that the legislators had yet to discuss a plan to relocate the office buildings of the city administration. However, he said that he agreed with the mayor'€™s plan to make the botanical gardens'€™ surrounding areas a heritage site.

Jajat said that discussion about the Bogor Legislative Council building'€™s potential relocation had been planned during the 2009-2014 political period. According to Jajat, councilors discussed the move because the current building had only 45 seats, not enough to accommodate all the legislators.

The council building will be moved to Jl. Pemuda, where there used to be a slaughterhouse, he said.

'€œWe have already agreed that the construction of the new building won'€™t be completed within the year and also, that we will have to receive additional funds from the West Java provincial [government] and the city administration,'€ Jajat said.

Deputy mayor Usmar Hariman said that the only site that would not be relocated was the Barangsiang bus terminal. However, he acknowledged that renovations there were urgently needed.

Usmar added that the city administration planned to build a new terminal that could accommodate local modes of transportation as well as public transportation integrated with Jakarta.

'€œWhatever happens, the latest discussion with the mayor concluded that we will redesign the terminal so that there will be parking spaces to accommodate Bogor residents who want to travel to Jakarta by bus. They will be able to park their cars and go straight to Jakarta from Bogor [...] using the existing Transjakarta busway,'€ he said.

Usmar said that Bogor regent Nurhayanti had contacted him about the construction of a parking lot in Belanova, Sentul, Bogor regency, so that visitors from Jakarta could park their cars in South Sentul before traveling by Trans Pakuan bus to Bogor.

Visitors entering the city, Usmar said, could also be given the option of parking their cars at the Baranangsiang bus terminal to help reduce traffic congestion.

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