JAKARTA — The bicycle lane along Jalan Dr. Saharjo in the Manggarai area of South Jakarta has once again drawn public attention after being turned every night into a temporary garbage collection point. This situation occurs at two main locations: beside Pasaraya Manggarai on Jalan Bhakti IV, and in front of Manggarai Bus Stop or Taman Infinia Park, making the lane that is supposed to serve cyclists frequently unusable.

At night, the area is crowded with garbage bags, handcarts, and trucks from Jakarta’s Environmental Agency waiting for waste to be transferred. These activities block the bicycle lane, while in the morning leachate water often remains on the road surface, making it slippery and potentially dangerous for road users.

The condition has sparked complaints from cyclists who feel their right to safe road space has been taken away. One cyclist, Dani, stressed that the situation is highly dangerous.

“In reality, this situation is very dangerous for us. Our lane has been taken, our rights have been stripped away,” he said.

The phenomenon not only creates inconvenience but also reveals unresolved issues in the management of public space. A bicycle lane that should function as mobility infrastructure is instead being used as a temporary garbage piling site, shifting its intended purpose and potentially normalizing the misuse of public space.

Government explanation

Manggarai Village Head Muhamad Arafat explained that the area is not a permanent waste disposal site, but only a temporary collection point before garbage is transported by Jakarta Environmental Agency trucks. According to him, limited land availability and narrow access roads into residential areas are the reasons why waste collected by community carts must be unloaded on the roadside.

Arafat also said there is a fairly large vacant lot owned by the Jakarta Provincial Government that has been used as a temporary garbage holding area. According to him, the location was agreed upon by local neighborhood associations and community representatives. Nevertheless, in practice, waste collection activities still affect the bicycle lane located on the main road.

Expert view

Muh Azis Muslim, an urban planning observer from the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, University of Indonesia, said the Manggarai case is not merely a technical issue of waste transport, but a reflection of urban governance failure in protecting the function of public space. According to him, bicycle lanes that have been provided for safe public mobility should not lose their purpose simply because of limitations in waste management.

Azis highlighted that when transportation infrastructure is used for other purposes, city planning is no longer fully serving the public interest. In his view, the Manggarai case shows that cyclists’ rights to safe space have not become a true priority.

He also emphasized that this issue should not be seen solely as a cleanliness matter. Instead, the conversion of bicycle lanes into garbage points indicates weak urban space control and the absence of solutions that genuinely address waste management needs without sacrificing public infrastructure.

Impact on road users

For road users, especially cyclists, the condition creates multiple risks. In addition to lanes being blocked by garbage and carts, they must also share limited road space with motor vehicles on narrow streets. This increases the risk of accidents and causes cyclists to lose their sense of safety while passing through the area.

From the perspective of urban order, the repeated nightly accumulation of waste on bicycle lanes also creates an impression of neglect. When a public space continues to be used outside its intended purpose, it sends a message of weak supervision and poor enforcement of spatial functions.

Root of the problem

This case shows that Manggarai’s waste problem does not stand alone. There are land constraints, truck access difficulties into residential neighborhoods, and the need to ensure household waste is collected daily. On the other hand, bicycle lanes located on strategic roads become the easiest places to use as temporary waste transit points.

This combination turns a temporary solution into a new problem. As long as waste collection and transfer systems are not arranged without sacrificing public space, bicycle lanes are likely to continue losing their primary function.

Calls for improvement

Cycling communities and residents essentially want the same two things: orderly waste management and bicycle lanes that remain usable as intended. Therefore, the solution should not stop at temporary cleanups, but must include systemic improvements so that similar incidents do not happen again.

The Manggarai case serves as a warning that cities need governance capable of balancing residents’ basic needs without sacrificing the rights of other public space users. In that context, Muh Azis Muslim’s view reinforces that this is ultimately a matter of policy priorities: whether the city is managed to benefit all residents, or whether one public function is allowed to collapse for the sake of another.

Source: https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2026/04/22/05390431/ironi-jalur-sepeda-di-manggarai-berubah-jadi-tps-dadakan-tiap-malam?page=all#page2 https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2026/04/22/07082261/jalur-sepeda-manggarai-tertutup-sampah-pesepeda-hak-kami-dirampas https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2026/04/22/09511001/jalur-sepeda-jadi-tempat-sampah-di-manggarai-jaksel-ternyata-ini https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2026/04/22/10382121/jalur-sepeda-manggarai-jaksel-jadi-tempat-sampah-bukti-gagalnya-tata-kota https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2026/04/23/11000931/jalur-sepeda-manggarai-jadi-tempat-sampah-komunitas-pemerintah-harus