TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinator of the Pedestrian Coalition (KPK) Alfred Sitorus said that on average, 18 pedestrians get killed by motorcycle bikers and cars, with one of the reasons being lack of protection and infrastructure for pedestrians.
"That’s the data from the police from all regions in Indonesia. You can imagine how many victims are killed in a year. They died in vain," Alfred said when his team were repainting zebra crossings on J. Kebon Kacang, Central Jakarta yesterday.
Under the scorching sun, the team repainted the faded zebra crossings on the street.
Previously, pedestrians crossing the street were forced to cross the streets without protection and there was only one white line between the Plaza building and Hotel Indonesia Kempinski.
Rights of the pedestrians are governed by Law No. 22 of 2009 on Traffic and Road Transportation. Article 131 of the Law clearly states that the pedestrians have the right to the availability of facilities such as sidewalks and crossings. The article also says that pedestrians are entitled to priority when crossing at a crosswalk.
However, Ahmad said the condition of facilities for pedestrians remain very poor, especially those in big cities like Jakarta. Jakarta has a total of 4,000 kilometers of streets but only 400 kilo meters have sidewalks.
"In addition, many zebra crossings are damaged. Pedestrians have always become the victims," Ahmad added. He also compared the crossing facilities in Indonesia with those in Hong Kong. He said the Hong Kong government forced the building managers to construct basements connecting one building to another. "That’s why, pedestrians feel safe and they are reluctant to use motorcycles."
PUTRI ADITYOWATI
