D

espite the controversy surrounding the closure of Jl. Jatibaru in Tanah Abang to accommodate street vendors, all seems well.

Stepping down from the stairways of Tanah Abang station, pedestrians are greeted with a row of idling Tanah Abang Explorer buses waiting for passengers to board.

The buses have returned with reduced hours after a compromise with angkot (public minivan) drivers, with the last call now at 2:30 p.m.

Public transportation in the area will be replaced by angkot from 3 p.m. onward, with only one lane of the road open for the minivans.

Nearby, street vendors occupying colorful tents lined up on the street to hawk their wares to passersby. The city administration provided the tents at no cost for those who hold valid Jakarta ID cards.

Lastri, a housewife who frequents the area to buy clothes for her family, told The Jakarta Post that she found the atmosphere much more relaxing.

“Before the road closure, the vendors crowded the sidewalk, making it stressful for those who wanted to buy or just wanted to pass. The closure also means the road is empty, save for the idling buses, so I can cross the road safely,” said Lastri before fiercely haggling for a pair of women’s trousers.

However, after walking past the street and onto Jl. Kebon Jati, the familiar commotion of blaring horns greets pedestrians as the traffic builds up.

The congestion stretches past the street onto Jl. KH Mas Mansyur, in front of the entrance of Tanah Abang Market’s Block A.

A Public Order Agency officer patrolling nearby said the gridlock has not improved, even with the lifting of the motorcycle ban on Jl. MH Thamrin.

“I don’t know if [the lifting of the ban] has any impact here. Maybe there’s just too many vehicles on the road, or maybe the road closure has something to do with it, but traffic hasn’t changed at all,” said the officer, who did not wish to be named.

The Jakarta Police opposed the partial closure of Jl. Jatibaru, saying that as well as violating the law, it increased traffic by as much as 60 percent as it changed the function of the road. They called for the street to be reopened to both public and private vehicles.

In January, Jakarta Police traffic management director Sr. Comr. Halim Pagarra said the police had sent a letter of recommendation regarding the policy’s implementation to the city administration.

One of the recommendations in the letter said the administration should involve the police traffic division in formulating policies on traffic management.

Halim told reporters on Monday that he is still waiting for Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to revoke the road closure, as the administration had told him that it was a temporary measure.

In December, Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said at a press conference that the closure was a temporary measure while the transit-oriented development (TOD) project is ongoing.

The TOD project in Tanah Abang will be undertaken by state-owned train operator
PT KAI, whose design includes the construction of apartments, office buildings and car parks within reach of public transportation.

The project is slated to begin in the second half of this year, with the project’s developer PT Pembangunan Perusahaan in the process of obtaining the necessary licenses from the city administration. (jlm)