Total Traffic Chaos !

[PostmanPat]

My partner is a tour guide and right now having dropped customers at the Mae Ping Hotel is attempting to return home near to Hangdong. GRIDLOCK....and then some !! Having left the hotel towards Chang Klan Road they have travelled 200 metres in an hour !! The cause of the downtown problems is the closure of Thapae Road for the Tuesday Loi Kratong floats therefore all traffic redirected to Chang Klan......but then, surprise surprise....more fun awaits !!

On top of all this, as of twenty minutes ago, Hangdong Road is closed, with traffic at intersections trying to access Hangdong Road stretching back hundreds of metres ( I know because I ve just negotiated it!). So why is Hangdong Road closed? Well, apparently on top of the downtown problem which is huge, Hangdong Road is closed because some "VIP" is about to drive down it from the airport so the rest of us not permitted to use it.

Information provided designed to assist not criticise !!.....and its only Tuesday, with the bigger days of Loi Kratong to come !!

Edited November 24, 2015 by PostmanPat

[MESmith]

My son's school is closing at lunchtime on Thursday. Reason given is road closures in city centre on Thursday afternoon for Loy Kratong, preventing school buses from taking kids home. I suspect most of the kids live outside the city centre, as this school is outside of the middle ring road.

Edited November 24, 2015 by MESmith

[PostmanPat]

Update as of 8.15pm. It took my partner and her driver almost TWO HOURS from the Imperial Mae Ping Hotel to Mae Hia Market !!

Be afraid, be very afraid, of the next two days !!

I will stick around the Hangdong/ Nongkwai area thank you very much !!!

[anto]

We done our Loy Katrung thing tonight .Not far from Lana Hospital .Traffic that side not too bad .We got in and out in 45 minutes .Tomorrow we stay indoors or very near to home in Sansai.

[Lampang2]

Will drive into CM tomorrow, aiming to arrive early to avoid closed roads

[JaseTheBass]

Luckily we throw bits of polystyrene in the bin rather than in the river, so shouldn't be affected by the road closures. My son might not get quite as much TV watching time as he expects though.

[WaiLai]

Luckily we throw bits of polystyrene in the bin rather than in the river, so shouldn't be affected by the road closures. My son might not get quite as much TV watching time as he expects though.

I'm not convinced that you are acting in the spirit of Loi Krathong by throwing those bits of polystyrene in the bin! Didn't you have any bad luck this year that you wish to float away so that your slate is clean?

[JaseTheBass]

Luckily we throw bits of polystyrene in the bin rather than in the river, so shouldn't be affected by the road closures. My son might not get quite as much TV watching time as he expects though.

I'm not convinced that you are acting in the spirit of Loi Krathong by throwing those bits of polystyrene in the bin! Didn't you have any bad luck this year that you wish to float away so that your slate is clean?

I'll throw some gone-off milk in there to wash the bad luck away.

[anto]

Our Katrungs toppled over immediately ,but at least kept floating .Probably down as far as Nakon Swan by now .

[BB1955]

Yes I was in the Hang Dong grid lock as well . They made me stop and pull into Koolpuntville and wait . Herad them come back up a couple hours later . Must have been dinner somewhere ...

[Sydebolle]

So, not only Bangkok and Pattaya then

[worgeordie]

On the way back from the airport yesterday,seen a few convoys of

a police car in front with 3-4 tourist vans following,also with buses,

flashing lights,trying to make a path to get the tourists through,but

there was that much traffic,they were stuck just like the rest of us.

regards Worgeordie

[jimmysjo]

That's why I fill up my fridge and stay at home at holidays like this. Three days at home. A good book to read. Easy.

[sawadee1947]

On the way back from the airport yesterday,seen a few convoys of

a police car in front with 3-4 tourist vans following,also with buses,

flashing lights,trying to make a path to get the tourists through,but

there was that much traffic,they were stuck just like the rest of us.

regards Worgeordie

the following cars were Chinese's. Big shots as Porscge Cayenne, BMW SUV, Volvo SUV aso ?

[anto]

That's why I fill up my fridge and stay at home at holidays like this. Three days at home. A good book to read. Easy.

What ever floats your boat .I like to at least dip my toe in the water so to speak .Got my duty done yesterday without too much trouble.

[samsensam]

last sunday i was on a bus on the normally free flowing pra atit road. that day however there was congestion. we discovered the source rounding a corner, a restaurant had taken over one of the traffic lanes and even put a few tables in the other lane for a private party. the party goers seemed to be having a good time.

[sawadee1947]

On the way back from the airport yesterday,seen a few convoys of

a police car in front with 3-4 tourist vans following,also with buses,

flashing lights,trying to make a path to get the tourists through,but

there was that much traffic,they were stuck just like the rest of us.

regards Worgeordie

the following cars were Chinese's. Big shots as Porscge Cayenne, BMW SUV, Volvo SUV aso ?

[true blue]

did my floating the boat yesterday,so to speak,got stuck in traffic,but its all part of the once yearly festival,seen a lot of happy people last night.everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves,espically around the iron bridge area.

[cheeryble]

I have to pick up missus from Ram and get to friends house on Mae Ping east side (near what was Baan Suan posh restaurant) just outside the third ring road north of town for 5.30

Will it be nasty heading that direction?

Shall I get her up to CMU area so we can head out on Canal Rd then cross Mae Rim .rd and were nearly there?

Estimated pain factor?

Edited November 25, 2015 by cheeryble

[bazza40]

The ring roads seem to be moving OK, but once you get off them there's a fair amount of gridlock.

[cheeryble]

The ring roads seem to be moving OK, but once you get off them there's a fair amount of gridlock.

Is there an underpass under the Mae Rim road at third ring road there yet or would that still be a mess?

[Rancid]

In the years in CM had a car and a bike, quickly learned which was the quicker mode of transport. Next time I won't even bother with a car.

[mankondang]

I'm surprised by the number of Chiang Mai people who act as this is the first time these roads have been blocked for special events and don't know how to navigate around the city by using the smaller roads. Every school day some two way roads are converted into one way roads during allocated and displayed hours, so navigate around them or choose more convenient hours. Parents must take their children to and from school and people must go to and from work. Many of these live in the outer suburbs, so if you are not one of these, then why not travel in the hours between, before or after them. I try to leave the city before 4:00 pm as most people finish work around 4:30 pm and the roads are obviously busy as people head home. Friday evenings is very busy, people go to their family homes in other towns from working in the city, and visa versa. Also many come into the city to meet and dine with friends on Fridays after work, others stay longer in the city to have an end of the week social with friends. All holiday times are busy, as people like to go to the city celebrations, or return home for the holiday period. Chiang Mai has more emphasis on celebrations such as Loi Krathong than some other cities.

When I arrived in Chiang Mai 6 years ago, I was given this information by a long term resident farang, who also advised me when, how to travel and also when not to travel. I hope that this assists you.

The unanounced arrival of VIPs such as royals, is something we can't plan for, but for their security it is understandable.

I realise that the OP was caught up in two of these situations, but lets be reasonable and say that these are not every day events he/she experienced.

Take care.

Edited November 25, 2015 by mankondang

[PostmanPat]

Whist appreciating that the last poster is trying to help, some of us have actually been here longer than you and have witnessed for ourselves the seriously deteriorating road traffic situation with no attempt whatsoever by the city authorities, or the police, to address the issue. I have lived in CM for 11 years now and we have gone from a sedate, easy to negotiate city to the present state of frequent gridlock but especially so when any kind of holiday or festival or special event takes place.

To simply say stay off the roads, or dont drive when its busy is simplistic in the extreme. We all have a life too, and have to go to certain places for whatever reason at certain times, and try as I might to avoid, some of those times are ( shock horror!!) when other people are using the roads too.

Ever since I came here people have been predicting that if no action is taken, and indeed no action has been taken, a gridlock situation would gradually occur. That prediction is now coming true! In fact, if anything, the situation is getting worse for drivers. An increasing number of the ( ridiculous ) U turn places on main roads are being blocked off, an increasing number of traders dont like you parking outside their premises and put out chairs and other devices in the road to stop you parking, and the concept of "park and ride" schemes which now operate well in thousands of cities around the world remain a pipe dream in Chiang Mai.

Design concepts regarding infrastructure are completely ignored when it comes to new shopping areas. Maya for example is so difficult to exit from at busy times I just dont go there, and the best ( worst) example is the Big C/ Homepro complex on Hangdong Road. There are hundreds of cars in there most of the time, and yet the two exits take you either straight to a line of traffic queuing on the Hangdong Road making it a slow laborious process to get out at all, or the alternative is to head out the wrong way for many people onto the second ring road, then to have to negotiate an always busy U turn after about three kilos if you want to go back to the Hangdong area! It seems here that if you have a piece of land you can put whatever you want on it, without any forethought whatsoever to the future traffic consequences!

Chiang Mai, sad to say, has gone from the perfect place to live ( 10 years ago ) to one which is still OK, but fraught with frustrations and only getting worse !!!!!

Edited November 25, 2015 by PostmanPat

[searcher22]

The ring roads seem to be moving OK, but once you get off them there's a fair amount of gridlock.

Is there an underpass under the Mae Rim road at third ring road there yet or would that still be a mess?

Yes, the underpass is now open, so if you're travelling north<>south, traffic has improved. However, the connecting roads are still a mess.

[Frank James]

The Answer: (Don't laugh!) B-I-C-Y-C-L-E!

Glide through and around all of the stuck cages.

Bike for Mom! Bike for Dad! Bike for Sanity!

[MESmith]

The Answer: (Don't laugh!) B-I-C-Y-C-L-E!

Glide through and around all of the stuck cages.

Bike for Mom! Bike for Dad! Bike for Sanity!

As a keen cyclist, I'll stay in my truck around the city & suburbs. Bicycle for rural roads & mountains only.

[CMKiwi]

Or using it as a toilet....yes history does repeat.

[ARISTIDE]

What do you mean, it's Loi Kratong already today and tomorrow (2 days event) and roads closed around 4 pm everybody should get out of the city!

its only Tuesday, with the bigger days of Loi Kratong to come !!

Royal family will takes around 10 minutes to pass by not the whole day!

some "VIP" is about to drive down it from the airport so the rest of us not permitted to use it.

Edited November 25, 2015 by ARISTIDE

[PostmanPat]

What do you mean, it's Loi Kratong already today and tomorrow (2 days event) and roads closed around 4 pm everybody should get out of the city!

its only Tuesday, with the bigger days of Loi Kratong to come !!

Royal family will takes around 10 minutes to pass by not the whole day!

some "VIP" is about to drive down it from the airport so the rest of us not permitted to use it.

In your attempt to be very smart you have in fact missed the reality. As others apart from me have confirmed already Hangdong Road was closed on Tuesday at peak time around 6pm NOT for 10 minutes but for the best part of an hour. OK? Thats the fact. Thank you!