Progress And Development

[Joel Barlow]

Opening soon will be an important part of the once-imagined ring road around Chiang Rai. From Highway 1233 (the road from SriSimon to WiangChai), perhaps a kilometer east of the little bridge, to Highway 1232 (Poh Khun Road) and the 5023 road to the new airport, will be an alternate route to our main superhighway (Route 1, the superhighway with stop lights). This will ease up some holiday traffic.

A new Rajapat University is being built at Chiang Khong. The bridge there to Laos should be finished before much longer, changing our tourist climate a bit. The advent of ever-popular Im going to Laos backpacker traffic will result in fewer stay-overs in our usually quiet province. Khun Maleewans Ban Rim Taling is purportedly up for sale already, although there are others much more optimistic. For a long time now, travelers to Laos have often stayed overnight in Chiang Khong; now that will hardly be necessary. Of course, the travelers will lose opportunity to brag, Im going to Laos!

The train from Den Chai in Prae Province (just north of Uttaradit) is projected to come here in 5 years or so, and traffic on the new road through Laos to China to bring in lots of business. That remains to be seen, but many investors clearly believe it, as evidenced by our local housing boom. Weve no now industry going in, nor much reason to expect much in the way of increased income from tourism or agriculture, although those things, too, could happen.

Or, we could end up with more empty housing like the many shop-houses from 1997 which never got used, or the housing estates south of the 2nd MaeSai bridge. With another Rajapat opening, one must wonder how well all the new housing near Ban Dus Rajapat will do… seems to me a lot of young folk would much rather have nice cars, jewelry, nights on the town and lots of phone conversations than a step up in housing. But perhaps a lot of occupancy will come about through a certain kind of gift-giving… in the way of gift-giving with utility for the gift-giver (our short-time hotels dont appear to have been experiencing any sort of boom).

It could be that some of this investment is in response to fears of Bangkok sinking. Another factor might well be the declining quality of ChiangMai as a destination for hospitality-seekers. But the main things seem to be expectations that the railroad and increased vehicular traffic to and from Yunnan will pick things up here substantially. I suspect that those believing that havent really done their homework; it seems entrepneurs agree with me, judging by our restaurants and pubs. But Im glad there will be an alternate route to our main throughway soon for a short distance within our capitol-city district, anyway. Will new and better maps, including that route, come about also? One can only hope. Somehow I expect that my paved but unnamed soi, on no maps now, will remain that way.

Edited June 13, 2011 by Joel Barlow

[jubby]

A new Rajapat in CK. Wow. who would have thought it .

As far as I can see regards the Backpacker Traffic, there ain't an awful lot of it left anyway. not enough to sustain the current tourist Business's in CK . Backpackers became unwanted here a few years ago, If I can remember rightly, the wrong sort of Tourist. Then the Financial crisis put a further damper on it. Thailand isn't a cheap destination anymore for westerners. never will be I suspect. The new Bridge will probably be more of a bypass for CK certainly. But there's always the Chinese right, and Thai Tourism could boom. maybe Laos Tourist's ?

Rajapat is an interesting one though, I always thought rajapat was sort of 'Tamada' as far as university's goes, takes in mostly local students, not exactly a huge local population in CK .

I suspect we'll have to wait and see

[Joel Barlow]

Gotta wonder if those Chinese (and other Asian) tourists aren't interested in something the backpackers weren't,

and if the money they bring in doesn't have something to do with another Rajapat opening...

or maybe I just have a dirty mind.

As for a Thai Tourism boom, I'm quite sure that's what Central/Robinson is all about.

Anyone else notice that Tops there is over 10% more expensive than Tops Appy Square?

But, I suppose, if you care about the price, you shouldn't be shoppiong there...

OK to go as a sightseer though! (as many do)

Was interesting to see Apisit claiming Thailand is out of recession.

Maybe the credit cards haven't come due yet.

[toybits]

Another nail to the coffin. That's what I think.

[jubby]

Another nail to the coffin. That's what I think.

Care to expand ?

[dindong]

Be careful what you wish for .......as they say.

This unfinished, about to be opened is going to make travelling into Chiang Rai via the Wiang Chai, Sri sai Moon junction, a bloody nightmare.

It's already a nightmare around school times and with the added traffic from this road, it's going to be worse.

Hope they get a bit more money and complete this byepass soon.

[kandahar]

It would be nice to see them relieve some of the pressure on the Super Highway. Rush hour seems to get worse by the month.

[IraqRon]

It would be nice to see them relieve some of the pressure on the Super Highway. Rush hour seems to get worse by the month.

I know a thai man who owns a building supply store close to me, he is also a Sawjaw(not sure of the spelling) in the local govt. Last year he showed me a rather thick proposal being sent to the current govt in BKK concerning the railway to CR. Seems this has been on the board for over 40 years as some of the surveys for the line were at least that old. He agreed that if CR provence backed the the right, meaning winning party, the chances of getting the rr built would be increased.

As far as the new ring road goes, it will certainly cause congestion to be worse on the Sri Sai Mun road, Needs to be extended thru to the highway south of town somewhere.

[Joel Barlow]

Right, Ron ("As far as the new ring road goes, it will certainly cause congestion to be worse on the Sri Sai Mun road, Needs to be extended thru to the highway south of town somewhere.") - but how? The old klong by Little Duck was to be covered over and made part of the ring road - a plan of a decade ago... but I don't see how that'd clear things up at Sri Simon. Nong Bua Road has become a real mess - spatially challenged people in oversized cars they can't really afford (or drive) crawling thru in abject fear...

I doubt the election will have much impact on the train. The RR "Authority" is one of the more corrupt gov't departments (much of BKK's traffic problem could be solved simply by putting an overpass above Makkasan depot, connecting Sukhumvit Soi Nana Nua and Petburi Rd with the Highway to Don Muang, but no, the RR people won't have it...)...

As for here, the road behind Ban Du Tetasban, which goes by the garbage burning place then over towards Ban Kariang Mitraphap should be finished some time (I haven't checked it lately; progress seemed slow on it though). With a better route from the north side of the river to Don's Foods and Hang Dong, there'd be a tiny bit of help, but I'm no more sure of what can be done on the west side than I am about Sri Simon!

Why is Amphoe Muang growing so much? some say, the universities, Central/Robinson, but I don't buy that. It's not enough. Specualtion is surely part of it, fears about Bangkok, interest in business with China, switching from Chiang Mai... but I just don't think much more is being produced here (Monsanto wants to change that, and might - for the worse...)... of course, there is the Thai baby boom.

[toybits]

"Development" at the expense of the environment is not development. Am I going native? Perhaps I am (because I just watched AVATAR a few nights ago).

Another nail to the coffin. That's what I think.

Care to expand ?

[KimoMax]

Think a lot of the growth is just due to the long planned Ring Road conneting to the North, neighboring Countries, and China for Commerce.

Lots of Highway development in neighboring Countries will connect to the Chiang Rai Ring Road route.

As well, developers and speculators are figuring out Chiang Rai has money here.

[lannaman]

Right, Ron ("As far as the new ring road goes, it will certainly cause congestion to be worse on the Sri Sai Mun road, Needs to be extended thru to the highway south of town somewhere.") - but how? The old klong by Little Duck was to be covered over and made part of the ring road - a plan of a decade ago... but I don't see how that'd clear things up at Sri Simon. Nong Bua Road has become a real mess - spatially challenged people in oversized cars they can't really afford (or drive) crawling thru in abject fear...

I doubt the election will have much impact on the train. The RR "Authority" is one of the more corrupt gov't departments (much of BKK's traffic problem could be solved simply by putting an overpass above Makkasan depot, connecting Sukhumvit Soi Nana Nua and Petburi Rd with the Highway to Don Muang, but no, the RR people won't have it...)...

As for here, the road behind Ban Du Tetasban, which goes by the garbage burning place then over towards Ban Kariang Mitraphap should be finished some time (I haven't checked it lately; progress seemed slow on it though). With a better route from the north side of the river to Don's Foods and Hang Dong, there'd be a tiny bit of help, but I'm no more sure of what can be done on the west side than I am about Sri Simon!

Why is Amphoe Muang growing so much? some say, the universities, Central/Robinson, but I don't buy that. It's not enough. Specualtion is surely part of it, fears about Bangkok, interest in business with China, switching from Chiang Mai... but I just don't think much more is being produced here (Monsanto wants to change that, and might - for the worse...)... of course, there is the Thai baby boom.

The planned extension to the ring road has already been surveyed and about 3 years ago red and white parallel marker posts were placed along the route between the current ending and Ban San Sai Noi. Part of this appears to be on the route of the canal near San Sai Noi. I wonder if work will commence when the current stretch is completed.

A question - where does all the money come from?

[Joel Barlow]

"The planned extension to the ring road has already been surveyed and about 3 years ago red and white parallel marker posts were placed along the route between the current ending and Ban San Sai Noi. Part of this appears to be on the route of the canal near San Sai Noi."

haven't noticed that. The canal about half or 3/4 a kilometer west of the new road almost completed I wonder if work will commence when the current stretch is completed, on the SriSimon Road (1233) will be covered over to make part of the ring road? Then perhaps Mae Kon intersection will become as bad as Sri Simon intersection. Which is perhaps why they are working on it.

Where does all the money come from? From the Bangkok government, surely - not from the provincial administration!

[kandahar]

I have a feeling that some of the shops in Central won't be lasting too long. I have heard that the people in charge have taken to borrowing vendors from walking street and allowed them to set up in Central, free of charge, to try to boost traffic, irritating the paying vendors immensely. And recently overheard were several paying vendors complaining of not having any sales throughout the day.

I doubt that CR can support the venture in its entirety for all that long. The Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Mall and Central in Chiang Mai comes to mind, with its many closed and shuttered shop spaces.

[kandahar]

When I think of progress and development in CR, I think of the small improvements they could make in traffic control that would greatly improve the motoring experience here.

For the most part, synchronized traffic lights aren't a thought. They should be, on the main thoroughfares, anyway. The amount of petrol wasted in this town due to uncoordinated traffic lights is huge. It is difficult in most instances to proceed from one controlled intersection through another without an extended stop, and then of course, increased energy usage to get moving again when the light goes green.

Traffic detectors can also be used to help improve the flow of the busiest lanes, allowing extended movement on the busy lanes while keeping the fewer numbers of cars from the side streets waiting a bit longer.

The biggest waste that I see is the single direction of traffic that is allowed at most of the lights on the busier streets. What is up with that? They already have the turn arrows paid for and installed at these intersections, but they don't use them. They apparently don't trust two lanes going in opposite directions. Making three directions of traffic wait for one direction of traffic is really wasteful, in time and again, petrol. There is no good reason not to allow opposing traffic to move through the lights at the same time and then to shut down both directions and allow those two groups of right hand turns to do their business. In most cases, there are just a few vehicles waiting to turn.

When the new light at the new bridge in CR went online, it was set up to allow traffic in both directions at the same time. That was a great idea. Unfortunately, both of the green right turn arrows were activated at the same time as the green lights, so people turning right just assumed that they had the right of way, not really knowing that oncoming straight traffic had a green light as well. Big problems occurred and they decided to go with the one direction of traffic scheme instead. Now that they are doing that, eastbound traffic is sometimes backed up all the way to Overbrook and around that turn along the river. To revert to the two direction light would solve that problem but they need to include the turn arrows with their own timing slot.

I also notice that there are no intersections at the more important intersecting points along the superhighway. To have to do a u-turn to access Sriburin is just plain goofy. It is easy enough to allow turns there, even if they aren't controlled by traffic lights. The same goes for Central and Big C. If they aren't going to put in intersections that allow turns into the places, they can at least install roundabouts on the highway, before and after, that allow traffic to do a sweeping turn and then merge back into traffic in the opposite direction and a smooth transition into the business entrances. Someone is going to get killed at the current u-turn intersections they have, if someone hasn't been already. There is enough room there to squeeze the lanes over to the left and accommodate a roundabout on the right for both directions of traffic.

To build more roads, more lanes and more options in the CR is a good thing and will become more and more necessary as time goes on. To properly manage the traffic they have at this time with the devices they have already installed is a cheap solution in the meantime. To hire one experienced person to look at the flow of traffic and allow him/her to make the necessary programming changes would make a huge difference in how well traffic moves in this town. To add a few concrete roundabouts in key places is also a cheap option to improve things. All of the money they can spend on new infrastructure is reduced in effectiveness if they continue to control traffic in an ineffectual manner or in some cases, to not control traffic at all.

Edited June 18, 2011 by kandahar

[kandahar]

Another case of goofiness and waste in traffic control or no control. Central exit and entrance. Why did they make the entrance into the place AFTER the exit from the place. You lose no matter if you are coming or going. Entering traffic has to deal with the exiting traffic before the entering traffic can make it to the entrance and exiting traffic has to deal with the entering traffic going by in front of them before they can exit and then AGAIN as the entering traffic slows to turn into the entrance. Who dreamed that up? And why? A much more common sense and workable program would be to put the entrance first and then the exit. And it could still be done, though they would have to change the signage and arrows painted in the parking lot. It seems so simple to this tired old brain.

Edited June 18, 2011 by kandahar

[Joel Barlow]

Great comments, Kandahar - I was almost despaired of meaningful discussion here

(and still don't know where the "proposed ring road" would go)...

I suspect they do want to sell more gas, and put bumps on the road for similar reasons.

Or maybe so the blind will be able to drive too...

(or are they just for the mentally handicapped?)

New Jersey has miles and miles of raods with no places to turn;

sometimes one must wonder about "city planners"!

The un-coordinated traffic lights aren't just an annoyance and gas expense,

they also add significantly to unhealthy pollution (look at ChiangMai!!!).

but we get no say, no consideration - just guests here

(most residents of CM are in the same boat - just guests, their household registration being elsewhere).

Interesting thing is how seeing these problems here can clarify so much about problems back home...

for instance, why the good of the public is ignored (because politics is about making money!)!

Of course, if they fail to make things effective, maybe we won't lose CR to invading hoardes...

[dindong]

When I think of progress and development in CR, I think of the small improvements they could make in traffic control that would greatly improve the motoring experience here.

There is enough room there to squeeze the lanes over to the left and accommodate a roundabout on the right for both directions of traffic.

Unfortunitly the drivers of Chiang Rai are not ready for a roundabout.

Did you ever watch the traffic at the new clocktower, am I the only one that stops for traffic in the roundabout here?

I have never seen another car stop for the traffic here.

[kandahar]

When I think of progress and development in CR, I think of the small improvements they could make in traffic control that would greatly improve the motoring experience here.

There is enough room there to squeeze the lanes over to the left and accommodate a roundabout on the right for both directions of traffic.

Unfortunitly the drivers of Chiang Rai are not ready for a roundabout.

Did you ever watch the traffic at the new clocktower, am I the only one that stops for traffic in the roundabout here?

I have never seen another car stop for the traffic here.

Oh, so you're the guy? I always wondered who it was that was letting me go ahead when it really wasn't my turn. That little clock-tower roundabout seems to move traffic right along. I have never sat at that place and waited three minutes for a chance to go.

I learned a long time ago, drive like everyone else and then some. If you follow all the rules, you're sure to cause a wreck with someone that wasn't expecting it.