V

endors along busy culinary center Jl. Surya Kencana in Bogor, West Java, have welcomed the Bogor city administration plan to revitalize the area, which currently suffers from traffic congestion and damaged pedestrian sidewalks.

The administration is considering repairing sidewalks along Jl. Surya Kencana, which is also Bogor'€™s Chinatown or pecinan, following a grant from the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry to conserve the city'€™s heritage sites, according to Naufal Isnaeni, head of the Spatial Planning and Environment sub-division at the Bogor Development Planning Board (Bappeda).

'€œWe are planning to continue the conservation of Jl. Surya Kencana,'€ Naufal said. '€œWe will upgrade the pedestrian sidewalks in the area so they meet international standards, so people, including tourists, can feel comfortable enjoying the city on foot.'€

Naufal explained that as part of the Kota Pusaka (Heritage City) program, the ministry had recently approved a proposal to build a gate and a monument to mark Jl. Surya Kencana as one of Bogor'€™s heritage sites. It also agreed to fund the improvement of pedestrian sidewalks from the Bogor Trade Mall to Kujang monument, roughly 1 kilometer from the Chinatown area.

By the end of 2015, the ministry had finished building the gate, which stands at the entrance to the street with a board reading Lawang Suryakancana (Gate of Surya Kencana), while the monument is currently under construction. The city plans to officially change the name of the street into Jl. Suryakancana, to make its pronunciation closer to the local Sundanese language.

Naufal added that the ministry would begin work on the pedestrian sidewalks from Bogor Trade Mall to the Kujang Monument next year.

Naufal said that officials had yet to talk about other ideas for revitalizing the area as discussions about the project budget would start this year.

Fahmi Jayadi, who has been selling Chinese-Indonesian cuisine in the area for 30 years, said the city administration should continue with the plan as the area '€œalready had a good start with the gate'€.

'€œI think it'€™s good that we have a unique gate, which can mark this area. However, I hope later the administration will also work on the pedestrian sidewalks, as well as reduce the traffic on the street,'€ Fahmi said while preparing a portion of Bogor'€™s pangsit penganten (fried wonton served with clear soup, glass noodles and shredded carrots) for his customers.

Chinese and Sundanese cultural expert Mardi Lim, who also runs a Chinese-Sundanese restaurant on Jl. Surya Kencana said that he contributed to the design of the gate with a touch of traditional Chinese architecture combined with Sundanese icons, such as the traditional West Java weapon, kujang.

He also said that the blend of the two cultures could be seen in the black and white tigers sitting in front of the gate.

For the Sundanese, the native ethnic group of Bogor, tigers symbolized valor, wisdom and honor, he said. Meanwhile, the black and white colors represent the Chinese belief in balance, called yin yang.

Mardi said that while working on the construction of the gate, he received many complaints from other Chinese-Indonesian vendors in the area. They opposed the gate due to trauma related to attacks on Chinese-Indonesians in the past.

'€œThey were afraid that the gate would mark it as a Chinese-Indonesian area. They feared something bad would happen again,'€ Mardi said. '€œI then assured them that the gate was meant to promote the area as a culinary and tourism spot.'€

Jl. Surya Kencana, with its halal and non-halal culinary delights, attracts tourists from many cities.

Many tourists visit Jl. Surya Kencana to taste the mouth-watering ngo hiang, pork, shrimp, or chicken roll served with potatoes, tofu, and sweet peanut paste. Some others head to the street to satisfy their craving for a bowl of famous soto mie Bogor, which is a clear soup served with egg noodle, chopped spring roll and diced beef or pork. (agn)
____________________________