Reluctant To Respond To The Demolition Of Permanent Bicycle Lanes, Anies Baswedan: We Must Focus On The COVID-19 Problem

JAKARTA - DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan is reluctant to respond to the desire of the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to dismantle the permanent bicycle lane on Jalan Sudirman-Thamrin.

Anies said that he is currently more concerned with handling COVID-19 in the capital city. Because now there is a spike in the transmission of the coronavirus after the Eid holiday. In fact, he admitted that Jakarta was entering the critical phase of COVID-19.

"We are all focused on the problem of handling COVID-19. So many of our relatives have been exposed. We are all focused on safety", said Anies at DKI City Hall, Central Jakarta, Friday, June 18.

Separately, Deputy Governor of DKI Jakarta Ahmad Riza Patria admitted that his party would consider the proposal from the House of Representatives (DPR) and the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo to dismantle the permanent bicycle lane.

"Now there is a desire from the council to be dismantled, then the National Police Chief conveys that he agrees, later we will study it again, we will review it again", said Riza.

Basically, Riza admitted that the DKI Provincial Government wants to provide the best facilities for all parties, including pedestrians, cyclists, motorized vehicle users, and public transportation.

"The DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has created a bicycle lane in order to provide opportunities for bicycle users to have their own lane so that it is not disturbed and does not interfere with users of other modes of transportation, because it is limited and regulated", he said.

However, a policy that the provincial government makes does not mean that it can please all parties. The important thing, he said, was that the policy was made based on the interests of many people.

"The policies taken are not possible to satisfy all parties, so the policies are taken for the benefit of many people, there is no policy for everyone, but policies for the benefit of many people", said Riza.

Moreover, said Riza, the construction of a permanent bicycle path that costs IDR 30 billion was carried out with previous discussions with relevant stakeholders. Both with the police, and the experts.

"All the policies taken by Governor Anies must listen to all parties, pay attention to existing regulations and for the benefit of all, not for the classes of society", said Riza.

Previously, Deputy Chairman of Commission III of the DPR Ahmad Sahroni asked the National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit to review the permanent bicycle lane created by Anies. In fact, Sahroni asked for the path with the concrete barrier to be dismantled.

Responding to this, Sigit agreed with the proposal from Commission III of the DPR RI which asked for permanent bicycle lanes to be dismantled.

"In principle, related to bicycle lanes, we will continue to look for the right formula. We agree that the problem is to be dismantled", said Sigit.