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‘Bizarre’ crosswalk at GBK to be moved
Come together: People cross a street divided by a plant-filled road divider at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Sunday
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ome together: People cross a street divided by a plant-filled road divider at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Sunday. A video criticizing the crosswalk’s design went viral last week. The complex’s management has promised to remove the crosswalk.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Following the release of a video poking fun at a “bizarre” crosswalk near Gate 10 of the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) sports complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, which went viral last week, the complex’s management has said it will move the crossing to a better location.
The video, uploaded to Facebook by Gusti Fauzi M. Gafli on Dec. 10, shows a woman in sportswear crossing the road. She then has to stop halfway across the road, as a divider with plants about 40 centimeters tall cuts through the middle of the crosswalk.
The woman then pretends to prepare to jump over the divider, while the man behind the camera says jokingly, “The design [of the crosswalk] requires pedestrians to be good at sports as they have to jump to cross the road.” Both of them eventually walk around the divider before using the crosswalk again.
The caption of the video says, “Anyone that can help, please inform whoever [is] responsible for GBK. Please help make our GBK a world-class sports facility.”
The video had been viewed more than 68,000 times and shared more than 1,300 times on Facebook as of Sunday.
It is not the only crosswalk separated by plant-filled road dividers in the complex. The Jakarta Post noticed that there are two other similarly impeded zebra crossings on the eastern side of the complex.
As a result, many pedestrians choose to jaywalk rather than use the crosswalks.
“The design is strange. It’s understandable if pedestrians choose not to use the crossing, but it is not safe as a lot of cars pass this road,” a pedestrian, Eko Rizki Arianto, 31, said on Sunday, referring to the crossing near Gate 10.
He, along with his wife and two children, chose to jaywalk as it was impossible for them to jump over the divider.
Hamidah As’ad, 22, who visited the complex for a creative arts event, questioned the management’s reasoning.
“I don’t think they [management] thought things through when making the crossings. Hopefully they will fix them soon, as many events are held at the complex, so many pedestrians use the crossings,” she said, adding that carefully designed zebra crossings would ensure pedestrians’ safety.
Separately, the president director of the GBK sports complex management center, Winarto, confirmed that at least four zebra crossings in the complex were separated by a road divider.
“We conducted an evaluation in late November as there are still many things around the complex that need improvement following the 2018 Asian Games and Asian Para Games,” Winarto said on Sunday, adding that he appreciated netizens for making the complaint.
He added that the management would fix the crosswalks by relocating them to another place.
“We will remove the existing crosswalks and have the lines re-drawn,” Winarto said, adding that the process could take up to two days.
The 120-hectare sports facility was given a Rp 2.8 trillion (US$205 million) revamp in preparation for the 18th Asian Games. It also serves as a venue for many non-sports events as a way to cover its maintenance costs, which are estimated to reach around Rp 16 billion annually. (ars)
