The Doubt With Anies Baswedan's Plan To Build A Permanent Bicycle Lane

Bicycle lane illustration. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - Urban planning observer from Trisakti University, Nirwono Joga, criticized the DKI Pemprov's plan to establish a permanent bicycle lane along Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to Jalan MH Thamrin.

According to Nirwono, the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency must evaluate the provision of bicycle lanes that have previously been built for 63 kilometers. He questioned whether the route that has been made often used by cyclists or not.

"The Transportation Agency must re-evaluate. From my observations, the bicycle lanes that have been built have not been widely used by cyclists and have not succeeded in attracting DKI residents to switch to bicycles as a means of short-distance transportation within the city", said Nirwono when contacted, Saturday, February 6.

Nirwono said that the efforts to paint the special bicycle lane on the left side of the Jakarta road for the last two years have almost been in vain.

This is because of the fact that he sees that cyclists rarely use this route. In fact, the existing bicycle paths are often crossed by other motorized vehicles.

"The Transportation Agency does not have the concept of a bicycle-friendly city, where it builds cycling infrastructure and evokes a cycling culture. So, it's not just about riding bicycles", said Nirwono.

For information, the DKI Provincial Government has begun working on making a permanent bicycle lane on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to Jalan MH Thamrin. Work is carried out until March 2021.

Head of the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, said that the permanent bicycle lane is 11.2 kilometers long. 2 meters wide. Then, the barrier is using a plant pot.

"For the protection of the bicycle lane, we use a planter box with a shape like a chain that is interconnected", said Syafrin.

The permanent bicycle lane on this protocol road will be equipped with several facilities for cyclists. Among them are wayfinding, footrests at intersections in the bicycle path, and rest areas in the form of a bike rack on the sidewalk.

In the construction of this permanent bicycle lane, the DKI Government will also build an inscription containing an ornament that has become an icon of Jakarta and bicycles. This inscription is located on the sidewalk or pedestrian path.

"The permanent bicycle lane will also be integrated with mass public transport service facilities, including 9 Transjakarta bus stops, 6 Jakarta MRT stations, 1 Commuter Line train station, 1 airport train station, and 1 Jabodebek LRT station", said Syafrin.

The construction of a permanent bicycle lane is expected to make bicycles an alternative mode of the first mile and last mile trips to support transit-oriented transportation policies.