I

t is hard enough to drive on Jakarta’s congested streets. But for some, it is even harder to walk on the pedestrian walkways, most of which are damaged, misused by selfish motorcyclists, while street hawkers feel no qualms about occupying the public facility.

Aprilia is among those who constantly struggle along the sidewalks. She said she had to become more assertive to get her rights as a pedestrian.

“During traffic jams, many motorcyclists take to the sidewalks. One time, one of them stopped in front of me and asked me to give him the right of way. Instead, I shouted ‘You get away! This is sidewalk!’,” Aprilia said recently, recalling the incident on Jl. Panjang in West Jakarta.

“I think most motorcyclists realize that they are wrong but do it anyway. Some others just blow their horns, but I am not giving them the right of way, otherwise they will think it is okay to ride on the sidewalks,” she added.

Olivia, another pedestrian, didn’t like the inconvenience.

“When I don’t take my car, I have to walk on sidewalks when taking my daughter to school [in Tebet Barat, South Jakarta] and picking her up. It’s extremely hot at noon, and the lack of big shady trees [make it worse],” she said, adding that street vendors occupying the sidewalks also disturbed her. “It would be much easier to walk on sidewalks if the street vendors were better organized.”

Most of Jakarta’s sidewalks, particularly along busy streets, are covered by street vendors who feel they have every right to be there.

Joni, a street vendor along a section of Jl. Tebet Barat Raya in South Jakarta, said he only had to get permission from the owner of the house in front of where he sets up his stall. “I used to pay ‘cigarette money’ to public order officers regularly, but now I don’t have to,” said Joni, who has been there since 1991.

Nearby street vendor Nuryadi said he would maintain his spot until the city’s authorities asked him to leave. “I don’t want to lose my customers. But if [Jakarta Governor] Fauzi Bowo asks me to leave, I will, because he owns this land, doesn’t he?” he said.

Nuryadi said that he had to move his stall during the assessment process of Adipura, the annual award granted to the cleanest cities in the country. “I lose my income for three weeks,” he said.

In a move that would appear to be beneficial to pedestrians, the Jakarta administration has disbursed considerable funds to maintain pedestrian walks in the city.

The Jakarta Public Works Agency’s South Jakarta streets unit set aside Rp 3.2 billion (US$361,600) this year to repair 14 sidewalks in seven districts.

The unit would also construct sidewalks on Jl. Taman Senopati, Jl. Cikajang Raya, Jl. Iskandarsyah I, Jl. Gunawarman and Jl. Prof. Joko Sutono.

“South Jakarta allocated the biggest budget,” agency deputy head Novrizal told the The Jakarta Post said without elaborating.

“Pedestrian walks indicate an area’s tidiness. Each district is struggling to win an Adipura award.” (swd)