Jakarta Evaluates Bike Lanes, Cycling Communities Urge Safety Improvements

The Jakarta provincial government (Pemprov DKI Jakarta) is currently evaluating the existence of bike lanes in the capital city. These evaluations are based on recommendations and follow-up audits from the Audit Board of Indonesia (BPK) and the Financial Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP). Head of the Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub DKI Jakarta), Budi Awaluddin, revealed plans to replace lane markers and adjust lane widths as part of the bike lane evaluation in Jakarta. "Regarding the bike lane dividers using stick cones, it is recommended to replace them with road studs from the perspective of safety, aesthetics, ease of maintenance, and economic value," Budi stated via a short message to CNNIndonesia.com on Tuesday night (22/9). He said the evaluation also considers the "Bike Lane Network Maintenance Planning Study in the DKI Jakarta Province Region." Budi mentioned that in addition to stick cones, planter box bike lanes located on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman to Jalan MH Thamrin are also targets for evaluation. "The width and design of the bike lane dividers (planter boxes) need to be adjusted/redesigned and rearranged by considering the division of traffic lanes, security, safety, and order," Budi explained. Budi stated that the width of the bike lanes will also be adjusted with a mechanism of fairness. "The width of the already constructed bike lanes will be adjusted and standardized according to a fair traffic lane division mechanism," he said. Lastly, Dishub DKI Jakarta is evaluating the safety and comfort aspects for cyclists through the maintenance of the bike lane surface. "Maintenance, upkeep, and repair of bike lanes and manholes located on bike lanes to support cyclist safety and comfort," Budi revealed. Budi stated that his party will begin to follow up on the evaluation points for the bike lanes gradually. Details of this evaluation follow the decision of Dishub DKI Jakarta to retain bike lanes in Jakarta. "Yes, we have discussed the bike lanes and they will be retained," Budi said on Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, cycling communities have also responded to the DKI Provincial Government's steps. One of them is the group of cycling workers, or Bike To Work (B2W) Indonesia. "B2W Indonesia appreciates the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government's decision to retain the bike lanes. This is a positive signal for the future of Jakarta's transportation," said Chairman of B2W, Hendro Subroto, to CNNIndonesia.com on Wednesday afternoon. B2W believes that the evaluation regarding the replacement of stick cones with road studs has undergone in-depth study. However, Hendro emphasized that whatever infrastructure is recommended must prioritize cyclist safety. Not only that, his party also proposed a trial run for the evaluation of bike lane widths. According to him, road space needs to be divided proportionally and effectively compared to being uniform. "It would be better if there was a trial run by looking at the actual conditions of the road environment and the traffic density to ensure cyclist safety," Hendro revealed. The most important thing, Hendro said, is that his party hopes there will be no more accidents due to damaged and potholed bike lanes and dangerous manholes. "This is very painful and of course could have been prevented with continuous supervision, maintenance, upkeep, and repair of bike lanes as a routine agenda for the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government," he said.