[sustran] Re: Indonesia's traffic nightmare
Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory
edelman at greenidea.eu
Sun Jun 28 21:42:01 JST 2009
Hi Sudhir,
This caught my eye:
"...The law is a triumph for the automotive industry.."
Which automobile makers are among the most active in Indonesia? Or with
the highest sales?
Thanks,
T
Sudhir wrote:
> *"lawmakers voted unanimously this month to demand disabled people
> wear signs announcing their condition so motorists won't run them down
> as they cross the street.*"
>
> http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_396512.html
>
> JAKARTA - NEW laws requiring disabled pedestrians to wear traffic
> signs have met with frustration and derision in Indonesia, where in
> the eyes of the law cars have taken priority over people.
>
> The laws will do nothing to improve road safety or ease the traffic
> that is choking the life out of the capital city of some 12 million
> people, and serve only to highlight official incompetence, analysts said.
>
> Within five years, if nothing changes, experts predict Jakarta will
> reach total gridlock, with every main road and backstreet clogged with
> barely moving, pollution-spewing cars.
>
> That's too late for the long-awaited urban rail link known as the Mass
> Rapid Transit (MRT), which has only just entered the design stage and
> won't be operational until 2016 at the earliest.
>
> 'Just like a big flood, Jakarta could be paralysed. The city's
> mobility will die,' University of Indonesia researcher Nyoman Teguh
> Prasidha said.
>
> Instead of requiring level footpaths and ramps, l/awmakers voted
> unanimously this month to demand disabled people wear signs announcing
> their condition so motorists won't run them down as they cross the street.
> /
> Experts say the new traffic law is sadly typical of a country which
> for decades has allowed cars and an obsession with car ownership to
> run rampant over basic imperatives of urban planning.
>
> 'It is strange when handicapped people are asked to carry extra
> burdens and obligations,' Institute of Transportation Studies
> (Instran) chairman Darmaningtyas said.
>
> 'The law is a triumph for the automotive industry. It's completely
> useless for alleviating the traffic problem.' The number of motor
> vehicles including motorcycles in greater Jakarta has almost tripled
> in the past eight years to 9.52 million. Meanwhile road space has
> grown less than one percent annually since 2004, according to the
> Indonesian Transport Society.
>
> 'Traffic congestion is like cancer,' Institute for Transportation and
> Development Policy specialist Harya Setyaka said. 'This cancer has
> developed over 30 years as Jakarta begins to develop haphazardly
> beyond its carrying capacity.' A 2004 study by the Japan International
> Cooperation Agency found that traffic jams cost Jakarta some 8.3
> trillion rupiah (822 million dollars) a year in extra fuel
> consumption, lost productivity and health impact. -- AFP
>
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>
> --
> Sudhir Gota
> Transport Specialist
> CAI-Asia Center
> Unit 3510, 35th Floor, Robinsons-Equitable Tower,
> ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
> Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
> Tel: +63-2-395-2843
> Fax: +63-2-395-2846
> http://www.cleanairnet.org/caiasia
> Skype : sudhirgota
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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--
--------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
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D-10967 Berlin
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CAR is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Autostadt und was Neues hingebaut!"
- B. Brecht (with slight modification)
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