Highway Police propose drastic traffic-flow change for East Pattaya

[Rimmer]

Highway Police propose drastic traffic-flow change for East Pattaya

PATTAYA:--The Highway Police have proposed drastically changing the way traffic flows through East Pattaya in order to mitigate the expected traffic nightmare that will unfold once construction begins on a bypass-tunnel under Sukhumvit Road.

Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh chaired the Nov. 19 meeting with representatives from the Pattaya, Banglamung, Nongprue and Huay Yai police stations, plus Highway Police and Department of Transport officials.

The project is expected to break ground in January and take nearly three years. To begin, one lane on each side of Sukhumvit will be closed for 1.9 kilometers.

The Highway Police suggested running more traffic down the railway-parallel road and turning four sois - Siam Country Club, Nernplabwan, Khao Noi and Khao Talo - into one way thoroughfares.

Traffic would be allowed to turn off of Sukhumvit onto Siam Country Club and Nernplabwan and head toward the railway road. Sois Khao Noi and Khao Talo would run the opposite direction, with traffic running from the railway to Sukhumvit.

- See more at: http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/highway-police-propose-drastic-traffic-flow-change-for-east-pattaya-43159#sthash.5FYPEbfU.dpuf

-- Pattaya Mail 2014-11-28

[Don Mega]

Time for me to move house me thinks.

[MJCM]

That would create one ... of a traffic jam every single day for 3 years in a row (Even worse then it's already)

Glad I am moving away from Pattaya.

Edited November 28, 2014 by MJCM

[Pattaya28]

City planners are needed.

Not untrained police to decide the fate of Pattaya traffic.

This project will create 1 enormous permanent gridlock.

Each junction on the railway bypass creates in itself gridlock, and the feeding Sois are too narrow for large volumes of traffic.

Edited November 28, 2014 by Pattaya28

[LennyW]

Drastic is certainly the correct word for this one!!

[Mobi]

Sorry to be a doom-sayer, but anyone who thinks this project will be completed on time is living in cloud cuckooo land. I give it 6 years, minimum, and it could well be up to ten years - mark my words.

As for the proposed one-way systems - yes they will almost certainly create years of gridlock, although my bet is that after a few weeks they will give up and let traffic flow as before.

This is the usual outcome of traffic control plans, such as the installation of traffic lights which are now permanently set to flashing mode at all crossings over the 'local' rail-road road.

Thank God that from my position on the lake, I can take the Pong route, either down Chaiyapornvitee Road and then onto the highway 7, thence to North Pattaya, or go directly to highway 7 via Pong. Both routes will completely bi-pass Central Pattaya mess for the next 10 years. Or I can drive out, across country, and only go back to Sukhumvit when I am well clear of Jomtien, depending on my destination.

I feel for those living in SSCC, Nern Plub Wan or Kow Noi - with the prospect of years of chaos ahead, much like the nightmare that encompassed the Thappraya Road area for more than 10 years and bankrupted countless shops and restaurants.

[SidJames]

A lot of people will change to motorbikes but it would also help if there was a properly run public transport system.

[Robroona]

A lot of people will change to motorbikes but it would also help if there was a properly run public transport system.

Dunno about people changing to Motorbikes. People on the dark side tend to be a bit older, too old to be thinking of swapping 4 wheels and air conditioning for 2 wheelers with no weather protection.

As for your last remark about a properly run public transport system. It is a bit like saying " if my mother had balls then she would be my father". Too late to start one now, too many things against it. Can you really imagine decent sized buses on Soi Nern Pub Wan?

[jimmybkk]

It can't be long now until the monorail system's finished, can it...?

[dabhand]

This sounds like an absolute disaster in the making.

They have only just improved Khao Noi to a reasonable standard all the way up to the Temple. Changing it to a one-way will mean it is likely to become a racetrack with many (most/all!) motorbikes going against the flow, rather than doing a full circuit. Current short trips to the local shops leading to full circuits - no chance.

The local plod will be filling their boots on this one!

[WitawatWatawit]

^^^ Dab, I don't think they mean the entire soi will be one way - just between Suk and the railway line.

I can just imagine the chaos on Soi Siam and Nern during peak hour at night. Khao Talo and Khao Noi are locked up, so that traffic will spread to the other two roads or move further down Suk, and go around the back roads.

[NanLaew]

Traffic would be allowed to turn off of Sukhumvit onto Siam Country Club and Nernplabwan and head toward the railway road. Sois Khao Noi and Khao Talo would run the opposite direction, with traffic running from the railway to Sukhumvit.

So that would mean that there would be 2 lanes of one-way traffic between Sukh and Railroad where each side of Railroad remains contra-flow as it is now. On top of that there's still 2-way traffic coming and going from Railroad to the Dark side. The actual railroad crossings where 2-lane/one-way meets 2-lane/contra flow is only 2-lanes wide with each single lane in opposite directions. Then they are without traffic lights and only a couple of those intersections get a traffic cop at rush hours. Yes... that will work flawlessly.

Despite a Counselors very reasonable observation that no-parking enforcement on existing traffic flows would be much easier, there's just no way the traffic cops are going to get out of their air-conditioned boxes and cars and do traffic management and they have already told City Hall that's the way it will (always) be.

Edited November 28, 2014 by NanLaew

[i claudius]

This will be a nightmare.!!!!

[balo]

This will be a nightmare.!!!!

You're already living in a nightmare, no big deal.

[blackadder]

We go School that Way every Day, it Will be the worst dead trap the next 5 year. My wife say, we go motorbike then. It will be a dead trap to people on MC! Special the Pattaya side of the rail-road, it is about 3 meter more narrow then the other side and the road don't have any pavement!

Thai government have to put trafick light to work and take out the car that not respect the light. Ther is camera on all interception. It is the same people that go on the road every day, youse police to pick out the bad drivers. Fine, fine, fine, we take driver license, we take car. Until the trafick light work, until speed come down on 50 km/hour as the road is built to. Today car is driving up to 80 km/hour. (I am no engel my self)

But, God luck to all of us.

[joepattaya1961]

Highway Police suggests..........if they would like to suggest or better : ACT, then they should take care of a proper traffic flow up and down Sukhumvit; THAT is their responsibility.

BTW........now the tunnel construction will take 3 years instead of 2.

[blackadder]

The tunnel will take 810 days to finish, it has been reported in oktober and the start of the project was to be in dec. 2014.....

And beach road in jomtien was plan to be a one way road, but the plan was chance 2-3 days after I was announced in the media to not be a one way road....

Now the tunnel will start in January 2015, and it will finis in 810 days....

And what was the budget?

Good luck to all of us.