Not Only PDIP, Gerindra Also Disagrees With Anies Making A Road Bike Route In Sudirman-Thamrin

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of the DPRD from the Gerindra faction, Mohamad Taufik, admitted that he did not agree with the plan of DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to create a special lane for road bikes on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to MH Thamrin. This is in line with the PDIP faction.

According to Taufik, the bicycle lane facilities on the left side of the road are sufficient to support residents' cycling activities. Moreover, the bicycle lanes in Sudirman are already protected.

"I think for bicycles like that, just use the existing bike path. You don't have to build a new track. You don't have to. Just use the existing one," Taufik told reporters, Friday, June 4.

According to Taufik, the provision of bicycle lanes for people on the highway has a purpose for transportation. Meanwhile, road bike users are racing cyclists who cycle for exercise.

Moreover, he said, the number of cyclists, especially road bikes, is not too much. Do not let the provision of special bicycle lanes for road bikes interfere with traffic performance.

"The existing path is sufficient. Take advantage of what is available. Don't disturb it. Then there are also protests, because road bikers are disturbing, using other designated routes," he said.

Previously, member of the PDIP faction of the DKI DPRD, Gilbert Simanjuntak, considered Anies' plan to provide special lanes for road bikes to be excessive.

Because, according to him, bicycle users are no more than 0.1 percent of the community. After all, Gilbert said cyclists don't pay vehicle taxes. However, they were given a red carpet by providing a special lane on Jalan Sudirman-Thamrin.

"The red carpet policy for road bike enthusiasts is to hurt people's feelings. These are all policies without study," said Gilbert.

It is known, the Head of the DKI Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, said that his party was finalizing the regulations regarding the plan to provide road bike lanes on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to MH Thamrin.

Later, the racing cyclists will get a special lane every Monday to Friday morning, starting at 05.30 WIB to 06.30 WIB.

Syafrin explained the reason why his party opened the road bike lane on weekday mornings. According to him, the traffic volume at 05.00 to 06.30 WIB in Sudirman-Thamrin is still not too congested.

"Sudirman-Thamrin was given space because the activity for bicycles as a means of mobility in the morning at dawn is relatively less. Then, traffic from 05.00 to 06.30 WIB is relatively low," said Syafrin.

Syafrin said, this lane is specifically used for racing cyclists (road bikes). Other cyclists are not allowed to cross and can only pass through the permanent bicycle lane on the left side of the road. "Non-road bikes follow the existing permanent bike paths," he said.