Pending Changes To The "local" Roads (next To Railtracks)

[LennyW]

I see today that somebody has put blackout stickers on the annoying green lights, you know the ones i mean - the ones at the opposite side of the rail tracks that confuses all the motorcyclists, it turns green to allow right turning traffic, but some drivers approaching from east or west make the mistake of thinking it applies to them - anyway, the stickers would be a good idea but most of them have come unstuck already, so now showing fragments of green light!!!

[tattoodrob]

everyday they seem to change what there doing......sometimes work then sometimes all flashing orange, i also seen all flashing red and was switched off altogether again at one point which actually was the best option as traffic was flowing very well. I dont know about other junctions as im just talking about khao noi. Also noticed that the one green light goes on before the other one and everyone just thought you could go and to be honest i was confused at first as to what the hel_l was going on but a lot of bikes still jump the lights as usual.

[myfriendyou]

Today Soi 87 has been red flashing all day, any other soi's the same or just this one?

[LennyW]

Last night the lights at some crossings were flashing, some were working correctly, (although they seem to have changed the sequencing), and some were off altogether???

I see from a story in the Pattaya Mail that they anticipate up to four months until all the phasing etc is fully sorted?????

[monty]

Last night the lights at some crossings were flashing, some were working correctly, (although they seem to have changed the sequencing), and some were off altogether???

I see from a story in the Pattaya Mail that they anticipate up to four months until all the phasing etc is fully sorted?????

It's not the phazing they need 4 months to sort out.

They have a dynamic computer controlled sequencing system on order, one of those with cameras which actually checks at which side traffic is the heaviest and adjusts sequencing accordingly.

Which will take 3 to 4 months to get delivered and installed...

[MeetJohnDoe]

I went back and forth a few times the past couple days..when the lights have been off I've just sailed on through to the nearside and whenever they have been on it's been of complete cock-up.

I see the problems have even made the local news: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/june/n...6_06_52_4.shtml

What I don't really understand, and maybe a traffic engineer can explain, is it's the same volume of traffic going back and forth everyday so why is it that when it's just left to its own devices, it seems to flow pretty well but as soon as you try to control it and make it "safe" with signals it backs-up into a complete cluster-fhuk?

Edited June 28, 2009 by MeetJohnDoe

[Mobi]

For those who aren't aware yet:

Folk living on the Pong side of the lake would be interested to learn that the traffic lights at the junction between the 3240? and Sukhumvit Road (Next to the True building), have been reactivated.

You can now turn right at these lights and head out of Pattaya, but more importantly, if you are driving Northwards down Sukhumvit, you can make a right into the 3240 next to True, and head up towards Pong and the lake. Previously you had to drive several kms past the junction in order to make a U-Turn and inevitably got stuck in a mass of traffic jams.

The 3240 is a much better road, now they have finished the flyover, and generally carries much less traffic that the roads on the far side of the lake (SCCC, NPW etc).

I don't know why they suddenly decided to reopen this junction - it has been closed for 3 years or more, but the opening coincided with the introduction of the one way system and lights on the local road, so maybe it is connected.

In theory it should take some traffic away from then other side of the lake - well certainly my car anyway.

[gmac]

12 o'clock today sailed up Nern Plub Waan where light's were flashing, no traffic in evidence either way on the new roads. 12.30 came back down soi Greenway (?- next to driving range), lights operational, very little traffic but all stationary for about 2 minutes waiting for lights to go through their interminable 4-way sequence!

[myfriendyou]

Yes lights back on today, and the same delays

[anothertorres]

hey, if you're gonna wait 10 minutes at the light, might as well have a beer and a smoke!

[Lancelot]

I was east bound on Soi Kaotalo, siitting at the red light and almost rear ended by drivers running the light. So when in Rome...

[LennyW]

Well today being the 1st of July, the supposed "grace" period is over, so lets see if the BIB are going to be out in force slapping fines on traffic violators??

[basjke]

Well today being the 1st of July, the supposed "grace" period is over, so lets see if the BIB are going to be out in force slapping fines on traffic violators??

Sure they will,catching those without a helmet.

[MeetJohnDoe]

Okay folks...this is rich! Was coming home last nite on Khow Noi from the Nearside at about 9 pm. Now, I think we would all agree that traffic flow on the roads in question maybe breaks down something like this: 80% east-west and 20% north-south or thereabouts. So if you were to set the signal lights at intersections to flashing, it would make sense to slow-down the road with the most traffic (flash yellow) and to stop the traffic on the road with the lower traffic volume (flash red). This would be best for overall traffic flow and managment and is logical.

Well of course, at least where I crossed, it was flashing red to stop in the east-west direction and yellow to slow-down north-south TIT

Of course, people were doing the "natural" thing and doing just the opposite.

[basjke]

Let's open the bets how long it will take before all the traffic lights are turned off to never be switched on again.

I put my money on 1 week from now.

It took a little bit longer then 1 week to have all the traffic lights switched off.So what you think,will they ever switched on again?

[anothertorres]

haven't stopped once now that the blinking reds are back. although, now i'm back to dreading crossing the tracks on my moto.

[Mobi]

Well I have to say that everything seems to have settled down very well.

Probably more by luck than judgment, but after they made the new local roads one way, and kept the lights permanently on flashing, the traffic is running very smoothly, and I haven't been aware of a high rate of accidents, as was previously the case.

The one way system sees to be the key, rather than the "free for all' at every junction that used to hold sway.

Let's hope they don't balls it up again by installing some computer controlled traffic light system.

Has anyone noticed that if you drive in the the east/west /east direction the lights flash red, and if you go north/south on the "local" road, the lights flash amber. Is there any significance in this - does north /south/north have a slightly higher priority?? (whatever that may mean)

[LennyW]

In theory - yes, the lane with flashing amber has priority over the lane with flashing red, but try explaining that to the locals!!

I have noticed an increase in the number of people driving the wrog way in the last couple of weeks unfortunately.

[ernieK24]

In theory - yes, the lane with flashing amber has priority over the lane with flashing red, but try explaining that to the locals!!

I have noticed an increase in the number of people driving the wrog way in the last couple of weeks unfortunately.

I don't drive, but my wife does, (I ride shotgun and lookout). We've been driving that route, from atop Pattaya Hill, to Carrefour and other destinations, for 3 1/2 years now, on an average of three days a week. If you thik it's bad now, you should have been driving it while they were building the new roads. I'm really surprised that our car, (a fairly new Toyota, purchased new), is still in one piece. I have never in my life seen such a Rube Goldberg construction project, and I'm 86 and during my working years I worked on highways in California. We've only been rear ended once, by a motor bike driven by a student and his girl friend. Traffic stopped.....but he didn't.

Those traffic lights were installed a year and a half ago, and just stood there and stared back at you. I prayed for the day when they would hook them up and make them operational. That's what I did in my previous life when I was a worker, installed traffic signals.

WOW.....was I wrong. First they made the signals flashing red East and West on Soi Khow Noi, and flashing yellow on the one way roads. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE simply ignored them, like they weren't even there. The universal rule is, you stop on a flashing RED light.....drive with caution on a YELLOW flashing light. Means absolutely nothing over here. I had many arguments with my wife over that. Her comeback was, "Everbody else do it so I do it too".

After a few days they reversed the flashers.....made no difference whatsoever. Everybody STILL ignored them.

Finally my prayers were answered.....they made the lights operational. COMPLETE CHAOS. What took five minutes or less to get through the intersection, by simply forging ahead and following the car in front of you. NOW took twenty minutes or more, and a wait for three or four light changes when you finally got to Sukumvhit Road, and traffic was backed up almost all the way back to the RR track intersection. It never entered their mind to increase the green light time at the light entering Sukimvhit Road, to clear out Soi Khao Noi, ready for the next onslaught. It also never occured to the eight or ten police officers with their white masks on to get out there and try and solve some of this mess. They were too busy standing around in groups of two and three, bullshiting with each other, and ignoring the whole thing. And this wasn't just once in awhile, this was every dam_n

day. The lights didn't last long. They've turned them back off and it's again, "every man foir himself". The only answer is a "flyover" bridge, but that would mean sacrificing several businesses on all four corners, and that ain't gonna' happen ! There's no money. Just "grin & bare it".......It ain't gonna' get no better.

[Mobi]

As said in my previous post, I find everything just fine now.

I travel these roads every day, sometimes 4 or 5 times, and since they made the North /South/North roads one way, I never have any problems, and have not experienced or seen anything approaching a 'near miss'.

When you have been driving as long as I have in third world countries, you get used to the fact that hardly anyone drives correctly or according to the law, mainly because they have never been taught, and are blissfully ignorant of most driving regulations. Even if they are aware of them, they never follow them, because nobody else does.

It is a fact of life that if people drove in the USA or England like they do in Thailand, then there would be mass carnage on the roads. But there is relatively little carnage in Thailand, because all drivers learn at an early age to have eyes at the back of their heads, expect anything at any time, and are always on the alert to take evasive action. You must too, if you are to remain alive on Thailand's highways and byways.

A vast majority of the serious accidents in Thailand involve motor cycles, invariably driven by inexperienced kids, and/or drunken idiots.

I drive on all the roads (North/south; east/west), and yes there are an increasing number of drivers who go the wrong way down the one way roads. But this is no different to anywhere else in Thailand, and at all times you must 'expect the unexpected'.

Drive safely

Edited August 11, 2009 by Mobi

[scotsman]

It was a big mistake in planning this road that they did not raise the road over all the intersections because as we have seen the traffic lights just don't work. Now that its back to a free for all again, then who knows who has right away. It was said on this thread by someone that the policeman said it was the main roads that cross the railway that have priority which would be correct in my mind as you don't want to get stuck in the rail track. Now as for accident's I have seen a bad one on the 5th of this month on Soi Country club and as you said Mobi it was a Motor bike and a small Toyota yardis, the place was full of police & rescue and not far from the same junction you could see a lot more white lines on the road where there was more accidents. This Road will claim a lot more lives in the future until they fix it with flyovers but as we know TIT so it will remain a very dangerous road to navigate through.

regards

Scotsman

[LennyW]

It was a big mistake in planning this road that they did not raise the road over all the intersections because as we have seen the traffic lights just don't work. Now that its back to a free for all again, then who knows who has right away. It was said on this thread by someone that the policeman said it was the main roads that cross the railway that have priority which would be correct in my mind as you don't want to get stuck in the rail track. Now as for accident's I have seen a bad one on the 5th of this month on Soi Country club and as you said Mobi it was a Motor bike and a small Toyota yardis, the place was full of police & rescue and not far from the same junction you could see a lot more white lines on the road where there was more accidents. This Road will claim a lot more lives in the future until they fix it with flyovers but as we know TIT so it will remain a very dangerous road to navigate through.

regards

Scotsman

That was only the case until the road was officially opened, then the new road takes priority.