Central Traffic Fiasco

[stevehaigh]

The new issue now is that traffic will be backed up from behind Prince of Songkla Uni "bypass road". Went to Kathu from Chao Fa West and it was a long wait. (Last night at about 6 pm).

i bet the people who live in that village by PSU are not going to be happy. 10x the usual traffic load coming up. and the road is already chewed up pretty bad, it will probably disintegrate over the next few months then they will close that down for repair

they are building a new road off muang jao faa road about 2-3km down from the honda corner, there is a sign to it, it say something like (to 4020 road i think). i went down there the other day but they are still building it. when that opens, it may help a bit

Edited December 4, 2012 by stevehaigh

[Valentine]

The new issue now is that traffic will be backed up from behind Prince of Songkla Uni "bypass road". Went to Kathu from Chao Fa West and it was a long wait. (Last night at about 6 pm).

i bet the people who live in that village by PSU are not going to be happy. 10x the usual traffic load coming up. and the road is already chewed up pretty bad, it will probably disintegrate over the next few months then they will close that down for repair

they are building a new road off muang jao faa road about 2-3km down from the honda corner, there is a sign to it, it say something like (to 4020 road i think). i went down there the other day but they are still building it. when that opens, it may help a bit

Are you talking about the one just before you get to the university. If so it will end creating it's own chaos as it exits on Wichitsongkram Rd, where you can only turn left & then immediately come to a set of lights where no doubt there will be many wanting to do a U turn. To get on to this road now you have to make a right turn through a giant mudhole.

[stevehaigh]

Are you talking about the one just before you get to the university. If so it will end creating it's own chaos as it exits on Wichitsongkram Rd, where you can only turn left & then immediately come to a set of lights where no doubt there will be many wanting to do a U turn. To get on to this road now you have to make a right turn through a giant mudhole.

its about 2km before the uni, starts about here 7.887868,98.358232. its under construction and i have no idea where it will eventually come out put proably near central so probably not much use

[glassdude007]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

before I always gave myself plenty of time over 2 hours never had a problem...but now???

Is there such a thing as a cheap hotel (not an overpriced spa resort) near the airport one could spent a night at before air travel?

That way fight the traffic day before air travel stay 1 night in hotel near airport get good nights sleep and easy travel to airport the next day ??? Hmmmm??

could be a good buissness opp. there for the next couple years???

open a travelers rest to beat the traffic blues....

Edited December 5, 2012 by glassdude007

[Jimi007]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

before I always gave myself plenty of time over 2 hours never had a problem...but now???

Is there such a thing as a cheap hotel (not an overpriced spa resort) near the airport one could spent a night at before air travel?

That way fight the traffic day before air travel stay 1 night in hotel near airport get good nights sleep and easy travel to airport the next day ??? Hmmmm??

could be a good buissness opp. there for the next couple years???

open a travelers rest to beat the traffic blues....

I arrive Tuesday afternoon at HKT. I'll let you know just how bad it is...

[stevehaigh]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

depends on time of day, when do you need to be at the airport?

[madmitch]

They've now closed one lane heading south on the southern side of the junction.

No problems this morning but the right turn from the Makro street, whatever it's called, could be fun later.

[glassdude007]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

depends on time of day, when do you need to be at the airport?

no set times when they book my ticket i go......

will be ariving Dec 11th at 10am so will see how it goes....

cheers

[Phronesis]

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh............

Inconceivably moronic solution.

The only possible justification is that the underground tunnel options provided the most scope for skimming of funding.

Any improvements to traffic flow will be quintessentially obselete before they are even completed.

This is what I would do:

1. All large tourist buses are banned from the Island

2. Create a large Mo Chit style terminal on the mainland at Sarisin

3. Install BTS style light rail from Sarisin to Rawai. Two spur lines also. One from Tesco through town down to Saphan Hin. The other from Chalong to Patong via Karon and Kata. The spur lines can be completed as a "stage two" project after the initial line is installed down the centre of the island

4. Stock the newly completed underground bypass tunnels with edible fish. The tunnels will of course be entirely flooded the first wet season after they are completed.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Phronesis

[Old Croc]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

depends on time of day, when do you need to be at the airport?

no set times when they book my ticket i go......

will be ariving Dec 11th at 10am so will see how it goes....

cheers

I've got a friend flying out at 2100 tonight.

We've just booked a cab to pick him up in Chalong at 1700 to allow for massive delays at Central at that time.

[Valentine]

The construction company seems to have the expertise to lay out the concrete barriers even though nearly two weeks & not complete yet, but they seem to lack expertise in digging holes. I would have thought as soon as the barriers were in place excavation would start & dirt trucks rolling in & out. BTW I have been on construction sites where people pay the builder to take dirt away as they can sell it for landfill. Perhaps this is still under negotiation.

[Guest]

The construction company seems to have the expertise to lay out the concrete barriers even though nearly two weeks & not complete yet, but they seem to lack expertise in digging holes. I would have thought as soon as the barriers were in place excavation would start & dirt trucks rolling in & out. BTW I have been on construction sites where people pay the builder to take dirt away as they can sell it for landfill. Perhaps this is still under negotiation.

If one of the forum members visit the area regularly, it might be worth of make an habit to take a photo from the same location. This could be daily or weekly. Then after 2 (or more) years combine these photos together to make an time-lapse film of the progress.

[starkey_rich]

Airport run yesterday afternoon from Rawai 1 1/2 hrs to airport and nearly 2 hrs on the return.

I hear TAT are thing of renaming Phuket to Pookok.

The new Bangkok with beaches

[LivinginKata]

If one of the forum members visit the area regularly, it might be worth of make an habit to take a photo from the same location. This could be daily or weekly. Then after 2 (or more) years combine these photos together to make an time-lapse film of the progress.

Not much chance that I will use the Central Junction for the next 2 years. But if I make a mistake and end up there I will take a Photo and post here.

[schlog]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

depends on time of day, when do you need to be at the airport?

Yesterday morning 8.50 am start Phuket Town to airport. total duration 30 min. way back same..... .

[Kopitiam]

I Wonder how long the trip to the airport From Rawai will take now....

depends on time of day, when do you need to be at the airport?

Yesterday morning 8.50 am start Phuket Town to airport. total duration 30 min. way back same..... .

Yesterday was a public holiday and traffic was much less than a normal weekday.

[Shot]

If one of the forum members visit the area regularly, it might be worth of make an habit to take a photo from the same location. This could be daily or weekly. Then after 2 (or more) years combine these photos together to make an time-lapse film of the progress.

Not much chance that I will use the Central Junction for the next 2 years. But if I make a mistake and end up there I will take a Photo and post here.

Great idea oilinki, but I’ll be avoiding that area like the plague for the next two years….or more.

Might be fun to guess at the overrun costs and days of delay. Maybe a contest of some sort. We could also include daily sightings of the number of workers standing around vs actually working.

[Felt 35]

The construction company seems to have the expertise to lay out the concrete barriers even though nearly two weeks & not complete yet, but they seem to lack expertise in digging holes. I would have thought as soon as the barriers were in place excavation would start & dirt trucks rolling in & out. BTW I have been on construction sites where people pay the builder to take dirt away as they can sell it for landfill. Perhaps this is still under negotiation.

There have been some digging there recently, (drove past 1830 today) but if they had worked at night with flood lightning they could be finished to next rain season!

[phuketsub]

The construction company seems to have the expertise to lay out the concrete barriers even though nearly two weeks & not complete yet, but they seem to lack expertise in digging holes. I would have thought as soon as the barriers were in place excavation would start & dirt trucks rolling in & out. BTW I have been on construction sites where people pay the builder to take dirt away as they can sell it for landfill. Perhaps this is still under negotiation.

If one of the forum members visit the area regularly, it might be worth of make an habit to take a photo from the same location. This could be daily or weekly. Then after 2 (or more) years combine these photos together to make an time-lapse film of the progress.

Good idea; you should be in the media...I will of course be avoiding the area as much as possible, but I'll try to get some pix and post them...too bad the pedestrian overpass has to go as that was always the best spot to take pix from...

I had to go to Central on Sunday to take the family to see "The Impossible" (better than I expected), and the Sunday traffic in the area was not that bad...Perhaps ironically, what was truly 'impossible' was finding a place to park in the underground parking garage there...I let my family out and by the time I 'found' a place to park (parking was actually forbidden there but I moved some Jersey barriers to make space) I missed the first 40 minutes of the film and the part I wanted to see most: how well the CGI people recreated the deluge.

It seems strange to me ( or perhaps I have not been monitoring this forum closely enough) that there isn't more comment about the horrible conditions and useless staff that work in these parking garages...

[LivinginKata]

It seems strange to me ( or perhaps I have not been monitoring this forum closely enough) that there isn't more comment about the horrible conditions and useless staff that work in these parking garages...

Been mentioned in past topics about trying to find a parking spot in Central, commented myself.

[steelepulse]

Just got back from a Rawai to Central area run and the worst traffic I saw was the traffic from Rawai going towards the circle. It was backed up all the way to Tesco and it was only 15:20. That circle needs to have some modifications but I don't see that happening.

[Colonel_Mustard]

The traffic is worse than usual of course but either it isn't that bad, or I have been lucky at the times I have been in that area. I would say on a journey from my home in the North of Phuket to Central it has taken about 5-10 mins more maximum.

[stevehaigh]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

[LivinginKata]

Just got back from a Rawai to Central area run and the worst traffic I saw was the traffic from Rawai going towards the circle. It was backed up all the way to Tesco and it was only 15:20. That circle needs to have some modifications but I don't see that happening.

Not that unusual to have traffic backed up from Chalong Circle all the way back to Tesco at any time of the afternoon.

[stevehaigh]

Just got back from a Rawai to Central area run and the worst traffic I saw was the traffic from Rawai going towards the circle. It was backed up all the way to Tesco and it was only 15:20. That circle needs to have some modifications but I don't see that happening.

Not that unusual to have traffic backed up from Chalong Circle all the way back to Tesco at any time of the afternoon.

a couple of days ago, the 4th, day before kings birthday, they basically shut down wichit/jao faa for an hour at 6pm for the school marching band to do a precession. i bet they was a lot of drivers backed up to sai yuan and beyond, not feeling the love.

[madmitch]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

Is this a serious idea or a joke?

When the police control the traffic at Chalong Circle the traffic backs up further than when they are not there. Roundabouts are not designed to let one lane through at a time, hence the disastrous traffic lights lasting only one day.

I honestly believe that with one or two exceptions, such as near schools, police directing traffic and controlling traffic lights manually is a total waste of resource.

There again, I suppose it takes them away from the extortion business for a few hours a day.

[LivinginKata]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

Is this a serious idea or a joke?

When the police control the traffic at Chalong Circle the traffic backs up further than when they are not there. Roundabouts are not designed to let one lane through at a time, hence the disastrous traffic lights lasting only one day.

I honestly believe that with one or two exceptions, such as near schools, police directing traffic and controlling traffic lights manually is a total waste of resource.

There again, I suppose it takes them away from the extortion business for a few hours a day.

Many many years ago I was a passenger in a car in Norway. i remarked how well the traffic flowed through roundabouts. I was told about the 'zipper' rule. One car from the left, next from the right, etc. How lovely would that sort of discipline be in Thailand

[stevehaigh]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

Is this a serious idea or a joke?

When the police control the traffic at Chalong Circle the traffic backs up further than when they are not there. Roundabouts are not designed to let one lane through at a time, hence the disastrous traffic lights lasting only one day.

I honestly believe that with one or two exceptions, such as near schools, police directing traffic and controlling traffic lights manually is a total waste of resource.

There again, I suppose it takes them away from the extortion business for a few hours a day.

serious, i've been across chalong circle 100s of times (maybe thousands) and i think the police directing traffic helps. yes, the lines can back up but they clear pretty quick when the police open up a path. better than a free for all where no one moves anywhere.

also, police manually controlling lights would help a lot on the main intersections near town. they can switch the lights when the side sois don't have enough cars and give more time to the main roads.

[TS79]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

Is this a serious idea or a joke?

When the police control the traffic at Chalong Circle the traffic backs up further than when they are not there. Roundabouts are not designed to let one lane through at a time, hence the disastrous traffic lights lasting only one day.

I honestly believe that with one or two exceptions, such as near schools, police directing traffic and controlling traffic lights manually is a total waste of resource.

There again, I suppose it takes them away from the extortion business for a few hours a day.

serious, i've been across chalong circle 100s of times (maybe thousands) and i think the police directing traffic helps. yes, the lines can back up but they clear pretty quick when the police open up a path. better than a free for all where no one moves anywhere.

also, police manually controlling lights would help a lot on the main intersections near town. they can switch the lights when the side sois don't have enough cars and give more time to the main roads.

Agree, manual operation work in well in major intersections but...

If they adopted the use of road sensors (in the tarmac) on the traffic light setup then this would also alleviate soi's been on green too long when no cars are there and give extra time to soi's have more. Traffic lights which are only timed are not very efficient. Mind you, getting traffic lights to work well also require lots of traffic study, something I doubt is done here.

Edited December 8, 2012 by TS79

[Valentine]

i just got back from central and it wasn't that bad, and yes, the circle was bad going north. they really need to have police directing traffic there all the time.

Is this a serious idea or a joke?

When the police control the traffic at Chalong Circle the traffic backs up further than when they are not there. Roundabouts are not designed to let one lane through at a time, hence the disastrous traffic lights lasting only one day.

I honestly believe that with one or two exceptions, such as near schools, police directing traffic and controlling traffic lights manually is a total waste of resource.

There again, I suppose it takes them away from the extortion business for a few hours a day.

serious, i've been across chalong circle 100s of times (maybe thousands) and i think the police directing traffic helps. yes, the lines can back up but they clear pretty quick when the police open up a path. better than a free for all where no one moves anywhere.

also, police manually controlling lights would help a lot on the main intersections near town. they can switch the lights when the side sois don't have enough cars and give more time to the main roads.

They have been manually controlling the lights for years during peak hours.