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Closure of South Jakarta bike lane, sidewalk causes much worse congestion
The agency has admitted that there was an error in the design of the project and that it would soon reopen an intersection on Jl. Tendean, including its bike lane, to allow for smoother traffic flows.
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Traffic congestion leading to Jl. Walter Monginsidi in South Jakarta on April 14, 2023. (The Jakarta Post/Twitter/Adriansyah Yasin Sulaeman)
T
he decision by the Jakarta Transportation Agency to pave a new road over a bicycle lane and pedestrian walkway in South Jakarta has led to a massive traffic jam in the area and caused outrage among local residents whose neighborhoods are now congested by motorists trying to find shortcuts.
The agency has admitted that there was an error in the design of the project and that it would soon reopen an intersection on Jl. Tendean, including its bike lane, to allow for smoother traffic flows.
"Our initial design to pave a new road was expected to lead to a smooth flow of traffic [...] but another crossing at Jl. Wolter Minginsidi, which now has to accommodate two lanes, could not cope with this," head of Jakarta Transportation Agency Syafrin Liputo was quoted by Kompas as saying.
The agency also admitted that the traffic chaos caused by the opening of a new lane for motorized vehicles in the area caused congestion that stretched as far as Cawang in East Jakarta.
Syafrin confirmed he had received a lot of complaints from locals in the vicinity of the two streets about congestion within their residential complexes due to the traffic overflow.
Syafrin said the decision to reinstate the bike path and sidewalk would be aimed at reducing the amount of traffic entering Jl. Wolter Monginsidi.
Urban activists and netizens reacted with fury over the weekend to the decision to remove the bicycle lane.
