Keeping Bali’s Traffic Moving

(2/23/2012)

Traffic authorities in Bali are increasingly concerned with the level of traffic congestion, with several intersections receiving a very negative “F Category” classification reserved for the worst areas of traffic bottlenecks. In order to reduce gridlock, the Bali Traffic Department is installing Area Traffic Control Systems (ATCS) for installation at the worst affected crossroads.

Reported by both Bali Post and Radar Bali, a meeting of legislators from Commission B of the Denpasar House of Representatives (DPRD-Denpasar) heard of the plan to control traffic monitoring systems from the chief of Bali Transportation Department, I Gede Astika, on Tuesday, February 21, 2012.

Astika told the lawmakers, “With the ATCS traffic controls can be adjusted in accordance with the congestion levels on the connecting roads.”

A traffic official explained that the ATCS forms a part of an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The ITS is an information technology system use to monitor traffic flows and reduce pockets of congestion.

The three area identified as having the worst traffic congestion in the Island’s capital are located in West Denpasar, North Denpasar and the eastern portion of South Denpasar.

The six intersections selected for the installation of ATCS are:

• The intersection of Jalan Mahendrata and Gunung Agung
• The intersection of Jalan Teuku Umar and Jalan Iman Bonjol
• The intersection of Jalan Iman Bonjol and Jalan Soputan
• The intersection of Jalan Gunung Agung and Jalan Setiabudi
• The intersection of Jalan Teuku Umar and Jalan Gunung Salak
• The intersection of Jalan Teuku Umar and Jalan Batanta

Other crowded intersections in the capital will also have ATCS systems installed by the Bali Transportation Service.

The use of automated systems on stand-by 24 hours a day are expected to be an improvement over the current manually operated systems.

The cost of installing the six ATCS points in Denpasar is estimated at Rp. 5.3 billion (US$589,000).