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Netizens, activists up in arms over closure of bike lane in South Jakarta
The Jakarta Transportation Agency recently decided to close the bike lane connecting Jl. Walter Monginsidi and Jl. Tendean in South Jakarta and set up a concrete barrier to block access for riders and pedestrians looking to use the path.
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U
rban activists and netizens reacted with fury over the weekend to the decision by interim Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono to remove a bicycle lane in South Jakarta's plush neighborhood of Senopati.
The Jakarta Transportation Agency recently decided to close the bike lane connecting Jl. Walter Monginsidi and Jl. Tendean in South Jakarta and set up a concrete barrier to block access for riders and pedestrians looking to use the path.
The Transportation Agency argued that the bike lines had caused traffic congestion in the area.
"The reorganization is necessary to allow for an improved flow of motorized vehicles," Jakarta Transportation Agency head Syafrin Liputo said in a statement.
Soon after photos of the closed bike lanes were posted on social media over the weekend, netizens reacted furiously to the decision.
"Very sad to see this. Pedestrians and bike riders who previously could cross the street have now been relegated back to the curb and the bike path is now removed. To add insult to injury, the bike logo still remains on what was the path," netizen Adriansyah Yasin Sulaeman posted on Twitter over the weekend.
Twitter user Ismail Fahmi responded with "This is epic," from his handle @ismailfahmi.
In some photos uploaded on social media, a yellow pavement guide is seen blocked by a concrete barrier.
Separately chairman of interest group Pedestrian Coalition Alfres Sitorus said the Jakarta administration should have improved access for pedestrians instead of hindering them.
"Demolition of a pedestrian walkway. This is definitely a setback," Alfres said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
Chairman of Bike 2 Work (B2W) Indonesia Fahmi Saimima regretted the decision saying that the existing bike lane network in Jakarta could be one of the best in the world today.
"Whatever is being decided by the Jakarta administration today is a benchmark for not only cities in Indonesia but also in Southeast Asia," Fahmi said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
This was not the first time a proposal to remove bike lanes in Jakarta stirred debate. In 2021, authorities in Jakarta were divided over the existence of bike lanes in the city streets as the police expressed a plan to review whether the bike lanes should be dismantled altogether.
As of September 2022, Jakarta has more than 100 kilometers of bike lanes and 67 bike-sharing stations. Building bike lanes was part of efforts to counter the city’s dependence on automobiles.
