Holiday Traffic Nightmare!

[patsfangr]

Stay away from Pattaya from now through at least Monday!

Traffic today was a nightmare from the RR Bypass west. Every road was backed up at least 1/2 km, and moving at a snail's pace. I came up from Beach Road on P. Klang after a visit to Pattaya Int'l Hospital. Took forever to get to Big C Extra. When I came out, turned up the back road to get to Soi Yume, and return to P. Klang. Incredible backup there. Then came the only good news of the day. They have opened the left turn onto Suk - at least for now. (Maybe just for the holidays?).

So, onto Suk, then up 7 for the "shortcut" to the east side. Again, a horrendous backup on the RR Bypass to get to the u-turn, and return to Siam CC Road. Around the u-turn, and found yet another horrendous backup on the RR Bypass going south to get to Siam CC.

Once I made the left turn onto Siam CC to head east, I found the traffic over here to be relatively light.

But, as I said, STAY AWAY FROM THE WEST SIDE, if you can avoid it.

[Robroona]

Took me 40 minutes from Tai to Nua. Poor buggers heading South weren't moving at all

[thailandforumaddict]

When will they go back to BKK ? I also need to go but wonder when I should take the risk ?

[Anthony5]

At 1pm traffic jam on the highway was from Nongprue exit, when I returned home around 5pm it was still the same.

[Pattaya28]

Traveling by road is a nightmare weekends and holiday periods.

Venturing out today OP should have known what to expect.

Until the impossible happens i.e. a road system that can deal with the volumes of traffic, nothing will change.

Adjust your life accordingly.I do.

[andre47]

For that reason I don't have a car here in Pattaya.

[KhunBENQ]

Absolutely no surprise.

Thanks to the government for another long weekend.

Stay away from Pattaya from now through at least Monday!

Tuesday (May 5th) the stampede will move northbound.

So on Wednesday the chaos should return to normal level.

Where will this lead to finally?

Too many cars, too many holidays.

Do they all have too much money?

Edited May 1, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[zierf1]

I don't understand why someone would drive a car in one of the most congested tourist traps on earth. Walk or take a baht bus!

[Anthony5]

I don't understand why someone would drive a car in one of the most congested tourist traps on earth. Walk or take a baht bus!

Maybe you can understand that there are people who live outside that tourist trap, and need a car to get there for some purpose.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Anthony5

[Asiantravel]

Knowing it’s going to be like this why do so many people still bring their cars?

On public holidays back home in the West I would gladly leave my car in the garage and use a taxi. Not only because of the incredible traffic congestion that I knew could be expected but because the prohibitive parking rates charged by multi-storey car parks made it just as economic to catch a taxi. Plus you had the advantage you can have a nice lunch and get sloshed and not worry about drink-driving.

[SidJames]

I gave up counting the amount of empty coaches sat in the jams.

I wonder where they are going to & coming from

[emilymat]

I had to go into Pattaya today from the darkside by the lake.

Fortunately, I did it by motorbike, going down by the railway road as per the OP.

Chaotic, and even though I was able to whizz past cars (at a sensible speed of course) I still felt very sorry for all those caught in the gridlock.

Now a question. It is illegal to go over the Suck elevated section of the motorway on a m'bike. (At least according to the sign). So I had to go up to Nua junction and do a u turn.

Is it illegal to drive a m'bike on the motorway, or is it just the overpass. ??

[onemorechang]

Knowing it’s going to be like this why do so many people still bring their cars?

On public holidays back home in the West I would gladly leave my car in the garage and use a taxi. Not only because of the incredible traffic congestion that I knew could be expected but because the prohibitive parking rates charged by multi-storey car parks made it just as economic to catch a taxi. Plus you had the advantage you can have a nice lunch and get sloshed and not worry about drink-driving.

Great post

You must live on the baht bus race track beach road - second road.

all will be fine then.

Every one else can get stuffed yes ?

will a taxi be stuck in traffic as well ?

or do you put the wife and 3 kids on a motor cycle taxi ?

[Anthony5]

I had to go into Pattaya today from the darkside by the lake.

Fortunately, I did it by motorbike, going down by the railway road as per the OP.

Chaotic, and even though I was able to whizz past cars (at a sensible speed of course) I still felt very sorry for all those caught in the gridlock.

Now a question. It is illegal to go over the Suck elevated section of the motorway on a m'bike. (At least according to the sign). So I had to go up to Nua junction and do a u turn.

Is it illegal to drive a m'bike on the motorway, or is it just the overpass. ??

At the Nua side there is the same traffic sign.

It is illegal to ride the bike on the motorway, since it is supposed to be a tollway, but as long as the tollbooths are not active, it depends if the police officer is short of tea money

[KittenKong]

My word yes. Jomtien Beach Road completely solid all day, as was Sukumvit.

Worst I have ever seen it. What a nightmare!

[OMGImInPattaya]

The main reason the op had a problem with traffic today is because he chose his route very poorly. This is not a surprise because the op often has nothing but complaints about traffic in pattaya and the way Thais drive or the poorly controlled or confusing intersections so he probably doesn't get out and drive enough to know all the ways to skin the pattaya traffic mess cat.

Now, being a resident, I assume the op knew it was a holiday weekend but chose to go all the way deep into town (PIH) anyway. Mistake number 1...but we'll give him the benefit of the doubt...may it was an emergency (seems unlikely as he seems to have made a stop at Big C shortly thereafter) or maybe a previously scheduled appointment made without knowing it fell on a holiday weekend.

It s not entirely clear, but after the hospital appointment, the op apparently stopped at Big C for some shopping and/or to eat. Again, another possible rookie mistake on a holiday weekend because traffic always gets worse as the day progresses; so if one does goes out on such weekends, it's best to go out early if possible and head on back home as soon as possible. But maybe the op's larder was bare or he was dying for a Fuji lunch special. Upon leaving Big C Extra and heading back to the Darkside here's where the bad routing decisions were made.

So the op exited the back side of Big C and turned right to go to soi Yumi and then right again to Pattaya Klang (and then left to Sukhumvit)...Wrong! Instead of making a right at soi Yumi you should have made a LEFT. Now that the Klang/Sukhumvit intersection is f'-up due to the construction...anyone who used to make their way back to Sukie and then head anywhere north (either to get onto NPW, SSCC, or up to north Pattaya/Naklua) in the past needs to avoid Klang and make a left at Yumi to soi Viva Hotel (one of the best ST hotels in town by the way...I take almost all my ladyboys there.). At soi Viva, make a right and it's strait up to sukhumvit. (This is also a back way to Big C from Sukhumvit, especially from NPW/SSCC, when crossing Sukie was allowed from those intersections and again when the tunnel construction is completed. Maybe the op didn't know this because again, he doesn't like driving in Pattaya so doesn't know all the shortcuts.).

So you're at soi Viva and Sukhumvit...go ahead and make your left onto Sukhumvit and merge to the right to go up the overpass onto the highway 7 extension to the Darkside. There, you've avoided the cluster-F that is soi Yumi getting to Klang and the Klang/Sukhumvit intersection'itself...see how easy that was. (By the way, that "re-opening" of the left turn at Sukhumvit has been open for about a week now because they are doing some digging or something at the old left turn route area so closed it off and not because of the holiday [again...get out much?].

Now your next choice of routing is really confusing to me, and really bad, if I understand it correctly. I understand from your posting history that you live somewhere down towards the bottom of NPW/SSCC...maybe near wat Sattuwas or Lake Maprachan. This is quite a ways down but for some reason you exitedhighway 7 at the first possible exit, near the RR tracks and u-turned around and made way south again to either SSCC or NPW to continue your way east to your home. Newbie move! Unless you had another stop to make on SSCC/NPW on the way home there is a much better route. Just go to the SECOND highway exit. There is no name for it (I call it the Baan Surin exit as there is a sign for that moobaan near the turnoff) but it's about 4 kilos down and the second exit once on highway 7 from the Sukie flyover. After you exit, you will see a bridge back over the highway so you want to keep to the left and drive parallel to it for a bit then u-turn onto it and go over the highway. Then just keep going straight...you're on the upper part of the soi that runs along th north side of the lake. You will also hit Soi Nongprue, where you can make a right to get to SSCC or NPW. With this route, you have avoided any and all traffic on the RR track areas or the upper SSCC/NPW areas. In reverse, this is also a very handy way to get yourself to the north pattaya/Nua/BPH area from the Darkside...avoiding the long often slow drive up SSCC/NPW and now the detour south and the u-turn to head back north.

Know your options for getting around town during all times of the day and days of the week and it's really not so bad. Think of it as the Pattaya Car Roller Derby. Also, keep a smartphone or tablet with you inthe car so you can read a book or surf the net while stuck in an inevitable traffic jam or waiting at an intermitable red light.

[Robroona]

Some really strange answers appear from time to time on this thread.

Walk or take a baht bus????? What if you need to go a few miles in this heat? Risk of a passing thunderstorm?

Baht buses are immune from traffic jams?

Except for downtown areas and Jomtien, where exactly are all these baht bus routes? East of Soi Bukhao there are very few

Looks like a few posters on here have no idea exactly how big the Pattaya general area is.

[MrWorldwide]

I'm enjoying my last few days in Pattaya from the relative comfort of a hotel on Soi Honey and I'm scheduled to leave for BKK on Tuesday morning, so I have vested interest in this holiday madness. My observations are limited to the 'circuit' from Klang down Beach Road and back up Second Road.

- couldnt agree more re the tour buses - many completely empty - making a bad situation even worse

- baht buses seem to be doing much better than they were a month or so ago when I started the 'deep pockets' thread

- plenty of tourists on the footpaths and in the restaurants down here, but most of the bars are dead right up until about 11pm

- motorbike taxi riders, presumably enjoying an upturn after a very ordinary high season, are taking more risks than ever. I found myself with my knee resting against the front of a large black car the other day as both parties tried to cut into the traffic - no apology from the rider beyond something mumbled in Thai

As others have said, this will only get worse in coming years as City Hall here shows absolutely no inclination to make the hard decisions needed for Pattaya to handle this much traffic. If there is one thing I look forward to farewelling, it has to be the sight of empty and mostly empty tour buses crawling down sois large and small here.

[doctormann]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

[Don Mega]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

Not everyone that lives in Pattaya has a Chonburi plated vehicle.

[Anthony5]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

Do you anymore such brilliant ideas? Let me guess, you're not a real doctor

[doctormann]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

Do you anymore such brilliant ideas? Let me guess, you're not a real doctor

Certainly am. Not a medic though!

[KhunBENQ]

As in so many threads about Pattaya traffic: good analysis/observations,

Good ideas.

You only have to look at more civilised countries/cities how to avoid such chaos.

BUT: this is Thailand, even worse: its Pattaya.

Anyone has hope that something significant will happen?

[doctormann]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

Not everyone that lives in Pattaya has a Chonburi plated vehicle.

OK then, we could look at other ways of establishing that a vehicle is, in fact, local.

I'm aware that some people prefer to have a Bangkok registration because, for some reason, they think that it makes the vehicle more 'up market', which is a load of old b*ll*cks of course. Apparently, a Bangkok registered vehicle is also supposed to command a higher resale value! How sad! Personally, if I were buying a used vehicle, I would prefer one that hasn't spent its life crawling around in Bangkok traffic.

Maybe we should just target 'Bangkokians' in general as they seem to be causing most of the problems on the roads. Just check the number plates of vehicles in the traffic jams here. The majority will be Bangkok plates. OK, some of these will be local vehicles but the majority will not be.

My original post was supposed to be 'tongue in cheek' by the way - no chance of such measures ever being implemented. If only!

DM

[KittenKong]

Much of the poor traffic flow here is caused by the lack of lane discipline and general complete lack of consideration for other users, and the incredibly slow way that Thai drivers pull away from lights and go round corners even when there is clearly nothing coming from any direction.

They even manage to create traffic jams going up the ramps in Central car park, which is pretty amazing.

[KhunBENQ]

They even manage to create traffic jams going up the ramps in Central car park, which is pretty amazing.

Not only in Pattaya and not only going up.

Once took me 20 min to get out (!) from the 5th floor (Khon Kaen), because the ramps were completely blocked by those exiting on the lower floors.

The guards standing about and doing nothing (what else would you expect).

Edited May 2, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[onemorechang]

It took my wife two hours to get from Khaotalo to Soi Yume yesterday - she had forgotten that it was a holiday weekend!

Anyway, I have a simple solution that City Hall should implement immediately. Pattaya is a theme park, yes? Theme parks charge admission, yes? So, set up toll booths on all roads into Pattaya and charge any vehicle that doesn't have a local registration 1000 Baht admission (10,000 Baht for tour buses). This might defer some people from coming here and causing chaos on the roads.

I think that the City would make money out of this and the local traders probably wouldn't lose out either. After all, how many of those coming here by road actually make it to the point where they can park up and actually spend money? It seems to me, from what I've seen, that the majority spend their time gridlocked and going nowhere!

DM

Not everyone that lives in Pattaya has a Chonburi plated vehicle.

OK then, we could look at other ways of establishing that a vehicle is, in fact, local.

I'm aware that some people prefer to have a Bangkok registration because, for some reason, they think that it makes the vehicle more 'up market', which is a load of old b*ll*cks of course. Apparently, a Bangkok registered vehicle is also supposed to command a higher resale value! How sad! Personally, if I were buying a used vehicle, I would prefer one that hasn't spent its life crawling around in Bangkok traffic.

Maybe we should just target 'Bangkokians' in general as they seem to be causing most of the problems on the roads. Just check the number plates of vehicles in the traffic jams here. The majority will be Bangkok plates. OK, some of these will be local vehicles but the majority will not be.

My original post was supposed to be 'tongue in cheek' by the way - no chance of such measures ever being implemented. If only!

DM

You will pay more for a second-hand vehicle in pattaya than in Bangkok

But a lot of traffic problems are caused by very bad driving and parking.

to many selfish people (99.9% thai ) on the roads in pattaya.

[Don Mega]

Knowing its going to be like this why do so many people still bring their cars?

On public holidays back home in the West I would gladly leave my car in the garage and use a taxi. Not only because of the incredible traffic congestion that I knew could be expected but because the prohibitive parking rates charged by multi-storey car parks made it just as economic to catch a taxi. Plus you had the advantage you can have a nice lunch and get sloshed and not worry about drink-driving.

Bwahahaha heavy traffic so leave the car and get a taxi instead........ did you think that through before you posted it or do you some how think taxi's are immune to traffic congestion ?

[patsfangr]

Much of the poor traffic flow here is caused by the lack of lane discipline and general complete lack of consideration for other users, and the incredibly slow way that Thai drivers pull away from lights and go round corners even when there is clearly nothing coming from any direction.

They even manage to create traffic jams going up the ramps in Central car park, which is pretty amazing.

Speaking of traffic signals, that is one of the primary factors contributing to traffic gridlock in Pattaya. Some signals are worse than others; but most of them in Pattaya remain RED for too long. (The lights at the intersections of 3rd Road with P. Thai and P. Klang are the WORST, often leaving the lanes stalled for SEVEN MINUTES between changes!) What happens when a signal is red? The traffic backs up for rapidly increasing distances. As that happens, side streets are blocked from entering the main road. Those streets, in turn, block smaller sois from moving. ... GRIDLOCK!

The timing of traffic signals should be set to maximize the FLOW of traffic. No major lane should be stopped for more than 2 minutes. Rapid changes keep the traffic moving, and allow the side streets to flow into the lanes.

If there were one single change that I'd make in administering traffic in Pattaya, it would be to shorten the cycle of traffic signals throughout the city. I guarantee that, while it certainly won't eliminat the excess traffic, it would ease the congestion situation. As someone posted earlier, the Thais in charge need to learn from western cities that have been dealing with heavy traffic for almost 100 years.

[Don Mega]

Which western cities have been dealing with heavy traffic since 1915 ?