Raise your hand if you, as a pedestrian, had to battle a motorcycle rider over the sidewalks in Bali.
As part of the preparation to host the G20 Summit this November, authorities on the Island of Gods decided to put up at least 530 bollards on the sidewalks of several main roads, including around Pesanggaran, Nusa Dua, as well as those leading toward Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park.
Two bollards (sometimes three, for bigger sidewalks) were installed on locations where vehicles – mainly two-wheelers – often take over.
“Bollards or pedestrian barriers have been installed on some spots. The goal is for motorcycle riders to not jump on the sidewalks,” said I Nyoman Yasmara, the head of the Task Force on Bali Province’s Main Road Operations for Region III, yesterday.
Yasmara conceded that unruly motorcycle riders using sidewalks to avoid traffic jams remain rampant in Bali.
The battle over sidewalks between pedestrians, motorcyclists, and street vendors, is an old song in Bali (and Indonesia in general, for that matter). Ironically, research conducted by Stanford University recently found that Indonesians are the laziest pedestrians in the world.
But, really, one just needs a good pair of eyes to see the condition of sidewalks in this country before solely putting the blame on people’s laziness.
Will these bollards be expanded further on the island after the conclusion of the G20 Summit? We’ll see.
