Central Traffic Fiasco

[merijn]

The site as of 27.12.2012

What are these pipes used for?

Those are water tanks, But for which reason i don't know.

Looks as though they could be silos for the concrete batching plant(s).

Without agitators ??

[Valentine]

The site as of 27.12.2012

What are these pipes used for?

Those are water tanks, But for which reason i don't know.

Looks as though they could be silos for the concrete batching plant(s).

Without agitators ??

Could be they will be used for footings & filled with reinforced concrete.

[Kernow86]

Excellent drive through this area and all the way through to Mai Khao. No traffic anywhere from 7-8AM.

It's teachers day so schools are closed. This must mean that ALL the congestion problems are caused by parents taking their children to school! Right?

[Felt 35]

Excellent drive through this area and all the way through to Mai Khao. No traffic anywhere from 7-8AM.

It's teachers day so schools are closed. This must mean that ALL the congestion problems are caused by parents taking their children to school! Right?

Yes and schools placed anywhere any businessman find it suitable to open a school as their business. The traffic problems on Phuket had been non existent with traffic float, i.e. traffic education and a bit planning 25 years ago.

[TS79]

Going south traffic backed up to Tesco Lotus today at 1.30 - 2pm.

Photo update, looks like some drainage going in on the south photo on the right hand side.

[hansgruber]

The real hell will begin when they start on the exit side (south). Its right near the school, where the road starts to narrow.

This is just the beginning.

[steelepulse]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

[hansgruber]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

Most of it is the hopeless drivers exiting central and all trying to get across immediately. Backs it up.

[madmitch]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

Same this afternoon, even though it was a holiday for most schools.

And later in the journey the police were making a right mess of the approaches to Chalong Circle, letting one lane through at a time.

[Shot]

1240 today it took 12 minutes from Lotus to the light. I saw one guy working, and 3 guys sitting in the shade eating noodles (Mama Spicy Shrimp I think)

[Valentine]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

Most of it is the hopeless drivers exiting central and all trying to get across immediately. Backs it up.

I have never understood this mentality as it also creates jams in the Central car park. If you come out of the car park on the inside lane you have more of a chance to get into the traffic more quickly.

Nothing to do with Central but yesterday it took me an hour to get from Kalim to Chalong. Nearly got rear ended at the top of the mountain as all traffic slowed going down into Kathu. The lean on the Patong City sign appears to be increasing. It will not be a good place to be in slow moving traffic especially with heavy rains.

[stevehaigh]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

i was coming south past tesco a couple of days ago and traffic was backed up almost to tesco and going nowhere, so i took the u-turn at the hospital, went through the back of index then left and left at the end just before central. big mistake, it took 20 mins to get though the lights coming from makro side.

maybe next time i'll go through town

Edited January 18, 2013 by stevehaigh

[steelepulse]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

i was coming south past tesco a couple of days ago and traffic was backed up almost to tesco and going nowhere, so i took the u-turn at the hospital, went through the back of index then left and left at the end just before central. big mistake, it took 20 mins to get though the lights coming from makro side.

maybe next time i'll go through town

Best bet is at tesco, go towards Patong until just past the shell station, turn left there, then that small slip road merges into a bigger road when turning left, then joining the main road by the police station. Then head towards Prince of Songkla on your favoured route and end up on the bypass road next to Honda. This route takes around 15 minutes and bypasses all the major cluster*****s.

[Valentine]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

i was coming south past tesco a couple of days ago and traffic was backed up almost to tesco and going nowhere, so i took the u-turn at the hospital, went through the back of index then left and left at the end just before central. big mistake, it took 20 mins to get though the lights coming from makro side.

maybe next time i'll go through town

Best bet is at tesco, go towards Patong until just past the shell station, turn left there, then that small slip road merges into a bigger road when turning left, then joining the main road by the police station. Then head towards Prince of Songkla on your favoured route and end up on the bypass road next to Honda. This route takes around 15 minutes and bypasses all the major cluster*****s.

Just be careful on timing as the U turn by Honda can become a big cluster f... around 5 to 6pm or thereabouts. I hear it is only one lane now outside Central East (Homeworks).

[noob7]

Uh, they closed the Uturn athe the central junction, to day. But still the 'overtaking lane' is opened.

~4-5pm, worst ever traffic jam, I've seen so far. All directions, block and go.

[LivinginKata]

Worst day ever today into Chalong circle from Phuket Town. Had to go to Immigration. Left there about 13.30, got home Kata 15.00. Hour and half BIB were controling the Chalong circle, 3 of them with zero co-ordination. Traffic grid locked.

[Guest]

Worst day ever today into Chalong circle from Phuket Town. Had to go to Immigration. Left there about 13.30, got home Kata 15.00. Hour and half BIB were controling the Chalong circle, 3 of them with zero co-ordination. Traffic grid locked.

So at the moment I can ride from Ao Por faster to Phuket town and back that you can get from the town to Kata. From now on I'll stop complaining that I live in the middle of nowhere and everything is far away.

How the traffic will change the behavior of local residents, tourist and the companies who are here?

Will the tourists who wish to go for diving stay close to the Chalong area and not be able to stay somewhere else as the transportation times are getting longer? "Why to do two 2 hours dives when have to sit on a car for 2-3 hours just to get to Chalong?"

The lack of fast transportation might do a bigger separation between different areas in Phuket.

One way to open the grid lock would be making a good road between Phuket town towards to Kata. Even a road a bit north of Chalong Homepro (or what is the shopping center) to the Kata hill (North of the karting area) would reduce the traffic in the circle. Is there any concrete plans to solve the problem?

[madmitch]

Worst day ever today into Chalong circle from Phuket Town. Had to go to Immigration. Left there about 13.30, got home Kata 15.00. Hour and half BIB were controling the Chalong circle, 3 of them with zero co-ordination. Traffic grid locked.

Do you think they might be using some of the new police on the island to perform this important task? So few roundabouts in the rest of Thailand that they would have even less of an idea than the regulars.

I have always said that the traffic flows much better on Chalong Circle when the police are nowhere to be seen and I stick with that opinion..

[JetsetBkk]

Worst day ever today into Chalong circle from Phuket Town. Had to go to Immigration. Left there about 13.30, got home Kata 15.00. Hour and half BIB were controling the Chalong circle, 3 of them with zero co-ordination. Traffic grid locked.

I go down Chao Fah East - "Phuket Town Road" - rather than West when coming from the east side of town. It may be busier than the West, but at least there aren't too many commuter vans on that route.

Today I came down from Central but went around the back of Big C and turned right to Kathu. Then at the first traffic lights turned left to go over the hill towards Prince Of Songkla university and along Muang Chao Fah road to join Chao Fah West. That's a pretty fast road and eliminates all the traffic snarl-ups south of Central for a couple of km.

When I got to Chalong Circle at about 4 pm, the circle was pretty clear - the cones were out preventing traffic from Kata joining the circle. I guess the BIB had had enough and decided to let the traffic flow freely.

[Phronesis]

Alright.

I have watched this project closely over the last few months. This is my new call.

The tunnel will NEVER be completed:

• Missapropriation of project funds
  
• Inability to solve water ingress problems within the tunnel
  
• Wet season flooding
  
• Collapse
  
• Unsafe for use due to poor cement and structural integrity
  

The end result will be a large and rather embrassing fish pond.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Phronesis

[Felt 35]

Alright.

I have watched this project closely over the last few months. This is my new call.

The tunnel will NEVER be completed:

• Missapropriation of project funds
  
• Inability to solve water ingress problems within the tunnel
  
• Wet season flooding
  
• Collapse
  
• Unsafe for use due to poor cement and structural integrity
  

The end result will be a large and rather embrassing fish pond.

Make that fish pond large include a park similar to King Rama IX but bigger, stretching from the junction to Kathu to North of Tesco, South to Land & House.Tear down Central Festival and Lotus and make a rubber plantation,keep the hospital and not to forget update the Immigration to do their real task i.e.deal with illegal immigrants, define and describe capacity and criteria for legal immigration, perfect the law, enorce the law and just not operate as another mom & pop store.Problem solved.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Felt 35

[David006]

drove past a couple of weeks back..no problems (atleast no more than usual)..going to Kata from Trang tonight..we will see. Always backed up between central and Chalong regardless..fact of life..methinks ..live with it we must....

[NamKangMan]

This story will probaby be given its own thread by Admin, but, it gives an indication as to why there is a lot more traffic on the island these days - apart from the fact every individual needing access to a vehicle due to the tuk-tuk issue.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuketbusiness/2013/Phuket-Business-New-car-owners-due-B1-2bn-20068.html

Not all of these cars have hit the road yet, but for the ones that haven't, delivery will be in 2013. So, you can expect even more traffic in the months to come.

14,327 new cars on Phuket by the end of 2013. Sure, not all vehicle will remain on the island, but a high percentage will.

You can expect a lot more accidents and parking problems.

[schlog]

Traffic from Patong now backed up to Makro every afternoon around 3ish. That must take 15 minutes to get through I would think.

Most of it is the hopeless drivers exiting central and all trying to get across immediately. Backs it up.

I have never understood this mentality as it also creates jams in the Central car park. If you come out of the car park on the inside lane you have more of a chance to get into the traffic more quickly.

Nothing to do with Central but yesterday it took me an hour to get from Kalim to Chalong. Nearly got rear ended at the top of the mountain as all traffic slowed going down into Kathu. The lean on the Patong City sign appears to be increasing. It will not be a good place to be in slow moving traffic especially with heavy rains.

Easy to understand. 95% of Thais driving a car didn't realise they are not longer riding a motorbike .

[LivinginKata]

Back to the original topic. Recently I have been forced to use the bypass road past central a number of times during peak periods. Quite honestly I found that traffic was flowing quite nicely. No delays at all.

[madmitch]

Back to the original topic. Recently I have been forced to use the bypass road past central a number of times during peak periods. Quite honestly I found that traffic was flowing quite nicely. No delays at all.

You must have been lucky. 30 minutes from Tesco to the Central lights last time I used it. Traffic backed up as far as Headstart school travelling east, northbound traffic pretty much at a standstill along past Phrompan (no change really!) and unsure about the road from Phuket Town.

Or am I just unlucky? NB I usually use alternative routes though sometimes have no option.

[Felt 35]

Back to the original topic. Recently I have been forced to use the bypass road past central a number of times during peak periods. Quite honestly I found that traffic was flowing quite nicely. No delays at all.

always smooth this week of month lets see next week......

[hansgruber]

If your headed south anytime between 5pm and 7pm. Its hell as you reach The Point opposite the Hospital.

Took me 45 mins from there to crossing the lights at the intersection.

[Kernow86]

If your headed south anytime between 5pm and 7pm. Its hell as you reach The Point opposite the Hospital.

Took me 45 mins from there to crossing the lights at the intersection.

Seconded. It's so frustrating because I feel something could be done to ease this congestion at peak times. Perhaps giving priority at the lights would help?

Is anyone making a U-turn at Phuket International Hospital and then taking the road behind Big C?

[LivinginKata]

<snip>

Is anyone making a U-turn at Phuket International Hospital and then taking the road behind Big C?

Yeh, I did that turn a couple of days ago. Not because of traffic, just needed to go into Big C basement car park.