Vento Saudale & Zaky Pawas, Jakarta – Angered over the dismal conditions of the nation's pockmarked roadways and the attendant traffic snarls and safety hazards they create, residents are increasingly venting their frustrations at local administrations whom they see as clueless at best and negligent at worst when it comes to street maintenance.

While protests are common, more and more that anger has been expressed through an unlikely and hard-to-miss symbol: banana trees, planted squarely in massive potholes that pose a risk to motorists' safety.

Tangerang residents on Sunday turned up at Jalan Raya Serang – a rutted and pitted main thoroughfare on which traffic often backs up for several kilometers – to plant the leafy green symbols of their discontent.

It's not the first time for Tangerang. Locals have recently planted banana trees in potholes on damaged roads across the city, from the Lebak Wangi village in Sepatan Timur to the Jambe subdistrict.

But officials say the horrible traffic on Jalan Raya Serang can't be blamed entirely on bad roads.

"I know that this road in particular is really damaged because it is being repaved," Balaraja Police Chief Comr. Jarkasih said. "We are working on repairing that road, which is why it is being repaved, and therefore causing so much traffic. On many points of the road, the conditions are horrible. Some of them are just patchwork jobs and they get inundated very quickly during the rains."

The banana tree markers are not exclusive to Tangerang, either. According to media reports from Sulawesi, Makassar residents in November planted banana trees on a road connecting the districts of Bantaeng and Bulukumba to show their anger toward contractors who they said did nothing to repair the streets.

And in North Sumatra, Medan residents recently blocked a road by planting banana trees on it. Last week, residents in Indramayu, West Java, planted dozens of banana trees in protest of poor road conditions.

And in September a badly damaged road in the Kepuh village of West Bandung spurred residents to plant the trees along the street, referring to them as "signs."

"People fall and get hurt on these roads," 50-year-old resident Didin said. "We plant these trees so that motorists see them as signs and be extra careful when passing such roads."

So how do local administrations react to complaints? According to Asep Ruhiyat, head of the Ciawi, Bogor, road and water agency, they can only warn the parties believed to be most responsible for the damage.

Oftentimes, that's not enough. On Jan. 5, officials in Bogor were forced to order six water refilling depots in the Ciawi subdistrict to suspend operations, a day after residents held a violent protest against the companies.

Locals accused the companies' water tanker trucks of severely damaging the road. All six firms are located along an eight-kilometer stretch of Jalan Veteran that is pockmarked with potholes up to a meter wide.

Asep said the road was repaved in the middle of last year but was quickly damaged by the heavy truck traffic going to and from the depots. "Most of the tankers weigh in excess of 12 tons. It's obvious why the road is so badly damaged."

Asep said his office had repeatedly warned the companies not to overburden the road, but they ignored the warnings.

Such stories point to a fed up public. And banana trees may become an increasingly common sight for commuters. In a Saturday editorial, the Kompas daily railed against what damaged roads say to the public.

"Frustrated residents have planted banana trees in the middle of roads pockmarked with potholes," it read. "The success or failure of a government should be measured by visible indicators, like the availability of infrastructure. This has a direct affect on the public's quality of life."