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Another Bad Traffic Day for the City
Zaky Pawas & Dofa Fasila | September 07, 2010

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Jakarta. Heavy showers that drenched the capital on Tuesday afternoon yet again played havoc with traffic.

Crossroads in Kuningan were inundated with knee-high water as far as the Wisma Mulia building on Jalan Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta.

While dozens of motorcyclists took cover under an overpass, others were forced to push their bikes after the deep water stopped their engines.

Elsewhere, cars trying to avoid flooded sections of road filled busway lanes, causing further traffic jams.

In the Semanggi area, where the cloverleaf traffic meets with vehicles entering from the direction of Slipi, West Jakarta, the effect of the rain was worsened by last week’s closure of an entrance to Plaza Semanggi.

While the closure of the mall’s vehicle entrance on Jalan Gatot Subroto had been meant to ease congestion, it instead resulted in a massive traffic jam on Friday, the first day of the new rule.

Hundreds of vehicles coming from Slipi at around 10 a.m. on Friday slowed to a crawl as they made their way toward Semanggi.

The head of the Jakarta Traffic Police, Sr. Comr. Condro Kirono, said vehicles trying to enter Semanggi from the main road became stuck, while others were forced to take alternative routes.

He said many motorists may not have been aware the Plaza Semanggi entrance was closed.

Jakarta Traffic Police will also close an entrance to Pejaten Village Mall in South Jakarta after the Idul Fitri holiday.

“The police have sent a letter to the Jakarta administration and the Pejaten Village Mall operator regarding the closure,” Condro said. “The entrance to be closed is on Jalan Raya Pejaten and is located directly on a crossroad.”

The entrance is frequently blamed for backups on Jalan Pejaten Raya and Jalan Warung Buncit, which are aggravated by buses dropping off and picking up passengers near the entrance.

“The entrance has to be closed so the traffic jams caused by vehicles going in and out of the mall will be minimized,” Condro said. “We often receive complaints about this via the Traffic Management Center.”

He said he hoped Pejaten Village Mall would be as cooperative as Plaza Semanggi in closing the entrance to help deal with traffic jams in the area.