Kiki Amelia, 27, a Jakarta housewife, recalled how her family was stuck in traffic during a recent short trip to Puncak. Since cars are easily stuck in traffic, her family made the trip by motorcycle. But this did not spare them from congestion.

“When we set out, the one-way traffic system was in place so there was no congestion. But when we wanted to head home, the traffic jam was very bad, even motorbikes could not [navigate] smoothly,” Kiki said on Friday.

The one-way traffic management system has been applied to Puncak's main thoroughfare since 1987.

She said trips to Puncak took her family about two hours from their residence in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta. However, the return trip took more than four hours, thanks to the congestion.

Many Jakartans travel to Puncak through Cianjur, a gateway from Bandung, and via Jl. Raya Puncak in Bogor regency's Ciawi district. Some sections of the winding roads in Cianjur are narrow.

In order to mitigate the notorious congestion, the Public Works and Housing Ministry is accelerating infrastructure projects while developing the Puncak 2 and Puncak 3 alternative routes to the area.

Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono said that the ministry was currently making improvements to existing routes, expanding the 5-kilometer section of the Jl. Ciawi-Puncak route as well as building a 5-hectare facility for street vendors in Gunung Mas, Cisarua district.

The projects have been allocated Rp 73.1 billion (US$5.15 million) from the state budget and are expected to be finished by the end of the year.

“We are improving the existing routes through road expansions and bridges, and also improvements to accommodate local businesses in the area, as [part of] our main strategy to improve the primary access to Puncak," Basuki said in a written statement recently. "Afterward, we will start developing plans for the Puncak 2 route from Sentul to Taman Bunga. It will be around 50 kilometers,” he said.

The Transportation Ministry's land transportation director general, Budi Setyadi, said the government was taking a multi-pronge approach to improving traffic in Puncak.

“We have formed a team with the [public works and housing] ministry and the Greater Jakarta Transportation Agency on how to manage the Puncak area, especially to smoothen the traffic during weekends. Not only by expanding the streets, but we are also thinking about other options,” Budi told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The Puncak 2 will reportedly be a 50 km route that starts from Sentul and passes through Jonggol in Bogor regency, and ends in Cipanas, Cianjur regency. Meanwhile, the Puncak 3 will start from Cibubur in East Jakarta, pass through Jonggol and end in Cipanas.

Local residents welcomed the planned routes, as they expected it would help ease their persistent traffic woes.

Kiryono, a coffee farmer in Kampung Cibulao of North Tugu village, Cisarua, expressed his hope that the road improvement project would put an end to the congestion in Puncak and help boost local tourism businesses. Kiryono, who also runs mountain bike rental business, noted that visitors were disorderly, with many of them parking their vehicles arbitrarily on the roadside while shopping.

“We really hope that the traffic will be smooth in Puncak so that all domestic and foreign tourists can be comfortable during their trip and enjoy their time here,” he added.

Local resident Ade Basir Baesuni echoed Kiryono's sentiment, saying that Puncak was congested not only during weekends but also during weekdays, due to narrow roads and increasing local and tourism activities.

Separately, transportation expert Darmaningtyas discouraged the government from focusing on road expansion, as this would only add to the traffic problems.

“In the areas around Jakarta, it has never been proven that adding more roads will mitigate traffic, because they just attract more private vehicles,” he said.

Darmaningtyas instead suggested that the government focus on providing proper public transportation, particularly in Ciawi or in Bogor municipality, to provide convenient travel within Puncak for reaching their intended destinations.

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