If you’ve ever bothered to wake up early on Sunday morning to go for a jog at Car Free Day (CFD) on Jalan Sudirman up to Jalan Thamrin in Central Jakarta, then you know that CFD isn’t exclusively about morning exercise.
More often than not, the CFD stretch is usually full of political rallies, demonstrations and petitions, especially around the Hotel Indonesia Roundabout.
The Jakarta Provincial Government is looking into ways to get rid of all of that.
“We want to return Car Free Day to its original purpose (for exercise). It can’t be used for political reasons,” said Jakarta Regional Secretary Saefullah, as quoted by Vivanews today.
Saefullah said various agencies in the Provincial Government would hold meetings every Saturday to determine what activities would be permitted at CFD the following day.
Groups wishing to hold events at CFD would also have to obtain permits from the police.
“Starting next Sunday, [CFD] will be controlled by the Transportation Agency. They have the Gubernatorial Order to organize Car Free Day,” Saefullah concluded.
