Enjoying the Comfort of the Sidewalks in Hong Kong

Convenient sidewalks make it easy for many Hong Kong residents to access them. The situation is different with Jakarta.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Residents queue to get on a bus in the Taikoo Shing area, east of Hong Kong city, Monday (25/3/2024).

There is a striking difference when walking on the sidewalk of Hong Kong and Jakarta . There are no motorbikes passing by or traders selling on the sidewalk. Don't want to compare, but just give an idea.

On Wednesday (28/3/2024) night, my stomach suddenly growled, so I took the initiative to go out of the hotel to look for food. Using the map on the Google application, I explored the Taikoo Shing area, which is where my hotel is located.

Taikoo Shing is located in the eastern part of Hong Kong. This area is a densely populated residential area for upper-middle-class residents. Several high-rise apartments are lined up with hotels, shopping centers, and office buildings.

Despite being late, the traffic situation in the city is still quite busy. Especially public transportation, such as taxis and buses, which are still actively transporting passengers. There are also a lot of pedestrians.

Also read: Improving Sidewalks, Increasing Mass Transportation Occupancy

I tried to penetrate the hustle and bustle of the city by strolling on the sidewalk. The sidewalk is almost similar to Jakarta, especially in the Sudirman area. The width of the sidewalk reaches 3 meters with gray-colored stones.

However, there is a fundamental difference that may not exist in Jakarta. In Hong Kong, there is not a single motorized vehicle that dares to cross the sidewalk. As a result, pedestrians can "live" peacefully in Hong Kong.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

A number of foreign tourists are standing, capturing the 9-meter-tall art installation created by the Australian creative studio, LTD Sisu, on Monday (25/4/2024).

I'm thinking that perhaps this orderliness only exists in elite areas. Then, I walked to the Central area of Hong Kong and the West Kowloon District. It's all the same, not a single vehicle or merchant occupies the sidewalks.

It's no wonder that pedestrians in Hong Kong can roam freely in their "territory". Some walk leisurely, while others hurry by walking at a fast pace.

Their speed can only be stopped when the pedestrian traffic light turns red. Even if there are no vehicles passing by, they will not move until the light turns off and switches to green. In thinking, it's amazing how orderly they are.

Between pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers, it seems that they already understand and respect each other. Skeptical thoughts arise, oh maybe it's only in Taikoo Shing where the situation is like this.

That is why I moved to the busiest point in Hong Kong, which is the Central area, located 12 kilometers from Taikoo Shin.

Without fail, no motor vehicle dares to pass through the pavement. Pedestrians can move freely without obstacles. The same goes for the opposite island of Hong Kong, namely in West Kowloon. There, pedestrians can also enjoy their rights peacefully.

Also read: Need a Master Plan to Maintain Quality Standards for Urban Sidewalks

This is the condition that led Hong Kong citizen Enid Wong to choose to use public transportation instead of a private vehicle.

"All the facilities are available, the train route is also connected to suburban areas," he said.

Every day, he only walks around 500 meters to the station and uses the MTR, an urban train-based transportation system.

"Even though it takes an hour from the office to home, this method (using public transportation) is much more efficient," said Enid.

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Residents walk leisurely on the shores of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, Monday (25/3/2024).

Director of External Affairs at the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Kenneth Ng, stated that providing public facilities, including pedestrian areas, is a priority. In the West Kowloon area, for example, out of 40 hectares of reclaimed land for office, cultural, and educational facilities, around 23 hectares have been allocated for public open spaces.

In fact, there is also a 2 kilometer long pedestrian path with a width of 20 meters directly adjacent to Victoria Harbor.

"We provide this facility so that more local and international tourists can come to West Kowloon," said Kenneth Ng.

Different situation

This situation is slightly different from Jakarta where motorized vehicles and street vendors often invade many sidewalk spots. Only a few areas are well-organized, such as along the Sudirman-Thamrin area and the Old Town area.

This is the condition that makes Jakarta residents still reluctant to use public transportation. Yeski Kelsederi (30), a resident of Pancoran, South Jakarta, for example, prefers to use private vehicles more often because public transportation facilities and sidewalks are inadequate.

He is also a little afraid to use the sidewalk because many motorized vehicles drive on the sidewalk to avoid traffic jams.

"As long as this habit has not disappeared, it will be difficult to get people to switch from private vehicles to public transportation," said Yeski.

Based on data from the Jakarta Transportation Department, the use of motorcycles still dominates. Of the 88 million trips per day, motorcycle use reached 68.3 percent. Meanwhile, the use of public transportation is only around 18.45 percent. This disparity creates traffic issues, especially congestion, which still occur.

KOMPAS/RHAMA PURNA JATI

Condition of the sidewalks around the Pasar Rumput area, South Jakarta, which was occupied by second-hand goods traders, Sunday (3/3/2024).

Previously, the Head of Data Information Center for Transportation of DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Susilo Dewanto, explained that based on the DKI Jakarta Regional Regulation No. 5 of 2014 Article 8, to achieve an effective, efficient, smooth, and integrated transportation system, the target of 60 percent of residents’ travels using public transportation must be met.

If the supporting facilities are not comfortable, how will residents switch to public transportation?

However, in its implementation, there are several challenges that must be faced, such as residential areas and un-integrated mass transportation modes. Currently, development still favors the use of private vehicles and toll roads.

On the other hand, the price of houses in the city center is also increasingly high, so many residents live on the outskirts which will certainly have an impact on the increasing transportation costs.

"Limited mobility is highly dependent on private vehicles and traffic conditions. As a result, traffic jams still occur, as well as inequality and environmental degradation," he said.

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Two residents were taking a photo on the sidewalk located on Juana Street, Duku Atas Village, Menteng District, Central Jakarta, on Sunday (3/3/2024).

The government continues to strive to increase public transportation coverage, including by increasing the number of public transportation vehicles. For example, the total number of Transjakarta buses is now 4,543 units. The subsidy for Transjakarta services has increased from Rp 663 billion (2015) to Rp 3.2 trillion (2023).

Executive Director of the Urban Study Center Nirwono Joga is of the opinion that efforts to increase citizens' interest in switching from private vehicles to public transportation are not enough just to increase the number of transportation, but also optimize the supporting facilities. For example, building pedestrian-friendly sidewalks.

"If the supporting facilities are not comfortable, how will residents switch to public transportation?" he said.

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Nirwono Joga

Nirwono exemplified the Sudirman-Thamrin area which has good sidewalks, pedestrian bridges, and stops. This is because of the integration of public transportation modes, such as LRT, MRT, KRL, and BRT Transjakarta. Unfortunately, public facilities in the city center have not been evenly distributed to the outskirts of Jakarta.

Various efforts to boost public interest in using public transportation must be carried out carefully and quickly. With the hope that the mobility of residents will not be disrupted due to the failure of the transportation system in Jakarta.

Hopefully, the condition of the sidewalks in Jakarta can be as good as the condition of sidewalks in Hong Kong. For that, the role of all parties is needed. Jakarta can surely achieve this.