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Bike-friendly development plans elicit praise from Jakarta's cycling communities
Cycling communities have lauded the local administration's plan to install protected bicycle lanes and expand existing lanes to provide safety for the city's growing population of bike commuters.
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A cyclist rides down Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Dec. 4, 2020, hemmed in by motorists. The nation's capital has an ambitious plan to install 578.8 km of bicycle lanes by 2030. (JP/A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil)
T
he Jakarta administration is stepping up its efforts to make the nation’s capital more bike-friendly, to accommodate a surge in residents taking up cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials are overseeing construction in Central Jakarta of the city’s first protected bicycle lane, an exclusive lane on a roadway for cyclists. They also plan to nearly double the length of existing bike lanes this year.
The move has garnered wide and high praise among Jakarta’s cycling communities that have long complained about insufficient cycling infrastructure and the lack of safe bicycle lanes.
Poetoet Soedarjanto of Bike to Work Indonesia (B2W Indonesia) said the project would be a good starting point for providing a safer and more comfortable environment for Jakarta’s cyclists.
"Our community warmly welcomes the new [protected] lanes. Even though it will span only a few kilometers, it proves that the city administration is starting to pay attention to our safety," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Chriswanto of the Kelapa Gading Brompton Owners (BOGAS) Club also expressed optimism, saying that by making Jakarta more bike-friendly, the administration had demonstrated its commitment to easing the severe gridlocks and poor air quality in the capital.
Read also: Yearender 2020: Pandemic cycling trend brings hope for a greener Jakarta
