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Jakarta eyes more bike lanes to support cyclists, curb air pollution
Jakarta Bina Marga Road Agency head Hari Nugroho said that while the existing bicycle lanes did not connect to one another, the expansion would make a network by connecting the existing lanes with the new ones.
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Lines of 'bajaj' park on a dedicated bike lane in the Blok M area in South Jakarta on Jan. 14. (JP/Iqbal Yuwansyah)
T
he Jakarta administration has planned to expand bicycle lanes of up to 65 kilometers long as part of efforts to encourage more people to pedal their way around the city and to ease traffic gridlock as well as the worsening air pollution amid critics from cyclists over the poor facilities for them in the capital.
Jakarta Bina Marga Road Agency head Hari Nugroho said that while the existing bicycle lanes did not connect to one another, the expansion would make a network by connecting the existing lanes with the new ones.
“One of the considerations for the expansion is that it can support areas affected by the odd-even policy, so motorists have more options to travel,” Hari told The Jakarta Post recently, adding that the lanes would be provided on both sides of the road.
The odd-even license plate traffic policy, which restricts the access of cars depending on whether the vehicle’s license plate ends in an odd number or an even number, has been recently expanded covering 25 streets.
In addition to the bicycle lane expansion, Hari said, the administration was also currently planning to integrate the concept with public transportation by providing bicycle parking zones at various locations including the MRT stations and Transjakarta stops.
In designing the expansion plan, the administration has been collaborating with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), an NGO for sustainable transportation.
ITDP’s senior communications and partnership manager Fani Rachmita said that based on an independent observation, the city currently had a total of 32 km of bicycle lanes spread irregularly across the city.
