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Joyful residents welcome Klender Park
New playground: Children and teenagers hang out at the newly opened Klender Park located under the Klender overpass in East Jakarta on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">New playground: Children and teenagers hang out at the newly opened Klender Park located under the Klender overpass in East Jakarta on Thursday. Parents and children in the area say they are very happy with the park because previously young people did not have any safe places to play. JP/Dewanti A. Wardhani
Dozens of mothers and school children visited the newly completed Klender Overpass Active Park in East Jakarta on Monday afternoon, taking advantage of its facilities.
Before it was turned into a park, street vendors dominated the area. The park is now enclosed and free of street vendors, and equipped with, among other things, skateboard ramps, a futsal pitch and a designated children's play area. While children played, their mothers watched from the provided benches.
Some children came straight to the park after school without their parents, enjoying their freedom. Rizal, a third grade student at Islamic private elementary school SDI Teladan in Pulogadung, East Jakarta, came straight from school with two friends to play in the park.
Rizal and his friends slid down the skateboard ramp as if it was a slide. They then tirelessly raced each other from one end of the futsal field to the other.
'I came here straight from school. It's only one angkot [public minivan] ride from school,' Rizal said.
He said that the facilities in the park were better than those provided at his school or in his neighborhood in Cipinang Baru, East Jakarta. Rizal added that he enjoyed playing in the park because it was clean and had many fun facilities for him and his friends to play on.
'It's really fun here. The park is spacious so we can just chase each other around if there is nothing to do. My friends and I are really happy. We come here almost every day,' Rizal said.
Meanwhile, Winarni, a 38-year-old mother of two toddlers, said that she was happy that her children finally had a place to play.
Winarni, who lives nearby in Kampung Baru, East Jakarta, said that she came to the park every afternoon so her children could play outdoors.
'Before the park was completed, my children had no place to play. If they wanted to play outdoors, they would have to go to the streets, which is really dangerous. They could get hit by a car or taken away by strangers,' she said.
Her two children, three-year-old Fahmi and four-year-old Airin, were having fun in the children's play area. They even brought their own toys, such as miniature plastic cars, a jump rope and a plastic ball, to share with other children in the park.
'All of the parents in this neighborhood, including myself, are very thankful for this park. Before, we had no safe space for our children,' Winarni said.
The Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency plans to install Wi-Fi in the park for visitors to enjoy free internet. However, Winarni said that she was not aware of the plan.
'I don't think that would be useful. Visitors come here to enjoy the space, not to use the Internet,'
Winarni said.
Jakarta Parks and Cemetery Agency head Nandar Sunandar said that he hoped visitors would make use of the WiFi once it was installed.
'Many people still do not have access to the internet in that area. We're sure that the Wi-Fi will be useful for the visitors,' Nandar told The Jakarta Post recently.
He added that he hoped residents would help the city administration to maintain the cleanliness and safety of the park.
'The park is not only the city administration's responsibility, but also the residents'. I hope that together we can maintain the park as a clean and safe space for everyone,' he said.
