Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk straight down the middle of Jalan Sudirman in the middle of the night – without any fear of getting run over speeding cars and motorcycles?
No? Well, even if you haven’t, you will have a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to experience that on the night of Dec 31.
Jakarta Police Chief Tito Karnavian announced yesterday that the government was declaring New Year’s Eve to be a “Car Free Night”, similar to the “Car Free Days” that happen regularly every Sunday morning in which vehicles are not allowed to enter Jakarta’s main thoroughfare so that people can walk, run or ride their bikes.
“Car Free Night will be like a Car Free Day. It will cover Jalan Thamrin-Sudirman until Senayan. We will provide security and traffic engineering. So that people do not all need to flock to Ancol,” Tito said at City Hall as quoted by BeritaSatu.
Although similar car bans have been enforced on previous New Year’s Eves in Jakarta, that was to facilitate the “Jakarta Night Festival” held in previous years, which included stages for live music and entertainment along Jalan Thamrin and Sudirman. But the government has already announced that such entertainment will not be on offer this NYE.
It appears that this year’s NYE vehicle ban is more focused on preventing the customary traffic that often occurs on December 31 when people go joyriding around Jakarta, often in groups with people standing in the back or on top of cars, to wave flags and shoot fireworks to welcome the new year.
This year’s Car Free Night will also last quite a while. According to Jakarta Vice Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat, it will last from 7pm until morning.
“I’ve already decided that the Car Free Night will be done on Sudirman-Thamrin. Starting at 7pm, the roads will be closed. There will be no events or entertainment stages along the Car Free Night area. So it will be just like Car Free Day,” Djarot said.
Djarot recommended that those looking for NYE entertainment head up to Ancol, adding that the government had prepared 150 buses to transport visitors to and from the area.
As Jakarta Police Chief Tito previously mentioned, 20,000 security personnel will be deployed on NYE to secure the festivities.
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