Heavy traffic blocks Jl. Raya Puncak in Bogor regency, West Java, on March 2, 2024. - Antara
JAKARTA: Transportation experts have urged the government to take more comprehensive measures to address traffic congestion in the popular tourist destination of Puncak in Bogor regency, West Java, following hours of gridlock on Sunday (Sept 15) during which a tourist died.
The destination, a favourite of Greater Jakarta holidaymakers, has become notorious for its traffic.
Known also for its cool breezes and lush tea plantations, Puncak saw an influx of visitors over the long weekend occasioned by Monday’s national holiday of Maulid, which commemorates the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
Videos of thousands of motorcycles and cars stuck in kilometers of stopped traffic made the rounds on social media on Sunday. Some vacationers said they were stuck for a full 24 hours.
Pictures of motorists lying in sleeping bags on the side of the road while waiting for traffic to clear up also went viral on social media.
Amid the congestion, a 56-year-old vacationer from Cipayung, East Jakarta, fell ill on a tour bus near the Gunung Mas tea plantation in Puncak and later died.
Bogor Police traffic department head Adj Comr Rizky Guntama said the woman boarded the bus at around 7pm on Sunday after visiting the plantation, but not long afterward she began feeling dizzy, had difficulty breathing and started foaming at the mouth.
She was taken to a nearby mosque after the ambulance sent to take her to the hospital got stuck in the traffic as well.
Rizky dismissed speculation that the woman had died of exhaustion while sitting in traffic, stating that she most likely died of an underlying health condition.
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Police said a total of 140,000 vehicles passed through the Puncak area on Monday, twice the maximum number of vehicles that the region’s roads are designed to accommodate.
In an effort to ease the traffic, police began closing roads leading to Puncak early on Monday, urging vacationers to find other tourist spots to visit. The traffic had mostly abated by that afternoon.
West Java Transportation Agency head Koswara said the number of vehicles passing through Puncak over the long holiday was three times higher than on normal weekends.
"The extremely high number of vehicles, coupled with a high number of motorists who were impatient and drove opposing traffic, led to the severe gridlock," he said, as reported by Tribunnews.
The agency was planning to implement a four-in-one policy on future holidays, he said, a policy that requires every car to have at least four passengers.
He added that a long-term solution was necessary to address the frequent congestion in the popular tourist destination, saying the government was planning to construct a new toll road from Bogor to Sukabumi, also in West Java, to alleviate traffic in Puncak.
Comprehensive measures Transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) said the government should take more comprehensive measures to tackle the frequent gridlock in the area, such as by providing public transportation services for holidaymakers.
"Most [natural] tourist attractions in Indonesia do not have public transportation systems, forcing visitors to use private vehicles to reach those areas. This eventually results in congestion during the high season," Djoko told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He also said regional leaders in Greater Jakarta should invest more funds to make tourist destinations in their regions more attractive to the public so that holidaymakers did not flock to Puncak alone.
"For example, the Jakarta administration could provide affordable ferries to the Thousand Islands regency," Djoko said.
He advised, however, against the construction of a new toll road to ease traffic, expressing concern about the environmental impact on Puncak and Greater Jakarta.
Transportation expert Budiyanto, meanwhile, said authorities should monitor existing traffic schemes more strictly, including one-way and odd-even license plate policies, to ease gridlock in Puncak.
"Deploy more police officers to manage traffic during the high season and use the police's Regional Traffic Management Center [RTMC] to monitor vehicle flows in real time and to formulate quick strategies to ease congestion," he said, as reported by kompas.com. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
