Traffic hell when terminal 21 opens ?

[bert bloggs]

I can remember how the traffic became really bad in Pattaya at weekends when central opened ,all i can say is God help us when terminal 21 opens , any thoughts?

[johng]

Yes the traffic did get worse after central opened
and I think it will be worse still when T21 opens.....I hope they have incorporated a very very big parking lot to cope with all the weekend Bangkokians.

[BEVUP]

Yep just get used to it

Happened here up in Korat. They put it at a main intersection 

Ok if your coming down the main street & going left, but then if your coming the other way & having to turn right, it's a nightmare. There are 2 lanes for turning right & I use the one on the left so you are then confronted with the people on the inside right lane trying to cut across after just getting through the lights not giving a crap

No idea of planning

[johng]

The entry and exit to "central" parking lot here in Pattaya is poorly thought out too,although a bit restricted by the long narrow plot of land.

They have "reserved" the whole 2nd floor parking for the 5 * hotel...why not reserve the top floor...ohh maybe because it can take an hour to get out of the carpark from the top floor and those hotel guests might not be too impressed.

[champers]

Does anyone know where the entrance and exit points for vehicles will be located?

[newnative]

In the vein of the glass being half full, one thing to consider is that right now a lot of the traffic is targeted at Central Festival on weekends.  Once T21 opens, the traffic congestion might be more evenly distributed between central and north Pattaya.  Hopefully, there will be more than just a couple of entry/exit points into T21.  I was at Festival a weekend or so ago and it was just TOO busy--and in so-called 'low season'.  Once T21 opens I hope Festival is a more pleasant experience on weekends.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

Yep just get used to it

Happened here up in Korat. They put it at a main intersection 

Ok if your coming down the main street & going left, but then if your coming the other way & having to turn right, it's a nightmare. There are 2 lanes for turning right & I use the one on the left so you are then confronted with the people on the inside right lane trying to cut across after just getting through the lights not giving a crap

No idea of planning

The planning and lane management is there but like everywhere else on the streets and highways, there's nobody there to enforce it. If a Thai can get away with driving the wrong way down the hard-shoulder of a national highway 'because he can', there's little hope for anyone caught by the 'me first' attitude in the weekend shopping stramash.

 

As for T21 in Pattaya; the fact that there will be 2 places for the weekenders to press their noses up against the glass and trough, I would think that Second and Beach in the vicinity of Central will be a bit easier. The currently buggered up entrance to Klang from Sukhumvit for southbound traffic forces most of the Central visitors to come in via Nua or Tai. The tunnel will be operational and normal service restored top-side at Klang so that will take the bulk of Central visitors. T21 visitors will mostly use Nua so the traffic lights at the Highway 7 spur will see the same back ups towards the toll gates. Then again, with the Highway 7 extensions completed in 2018 and the toll booths open, the inbound backups will be east of those. Nua will be busy all the way from Sukhumvit to (where) Dolphin (used to be). Tai may be a bit quieter but only as far as Wat Chai and the end of Buakhao where the local markets, double parking and lines of songtaews will continue to clog things up.

 

Oh yes, and there will be big buses. Lots and lots of them.

[canopus1969]

Pattaya traffic is always crazy at weekends with the Thai tourists so simple solution, do not drive into Pattaya at weekends - and never on a long weekend !

[johng]

Pattaya traffic is always crazy at weekends with the Thai tourists so simple solution, do not drive into Pattaya at weekends - and never on a long weekend !

I try not to !
but .....
"she who must be obeyed"
only gets Sundays off from work,
on days off she likes to shuffle money from her bank accounts around and around
"Central" is the only place that has almost all banks in one place and also open at weekends.

[xminator]

Guess its time Google drove its map car trough Pattaya and Jomtien again. 5 years is a long time in a place like Pattaya

[thaibeachlovers]

Don't get the reason for the thread. OF COURSE the traffic will be bad. No one expects the city authorities to do anything to improve anything, do they? Putting in wider roads and alternatives is clearly not on the agenda. The underpass is proof enough- can't even get it open on time 555555555555555555555.

I wasn't happy about having to leave Pattaya, but seems that it might have actually been a good move. At least up in Chiang Mai, although the old city infrastructure is just as bad as Pattaya's, they are building all the new malls and condos by the big superhighways, so traffic isn't trying to get down roads built for a quarter of the traffic. Pattaya's Second Rd is already congested and it's only low season. They should do the same in Pattaya and build everything along Sukhumvit, though with two more underpasses to be built over probably 10 or 15 years, depending on the level of incompetence, the traffic on Suk isn't going to be flowing freely for a very long time.

Now, if they loosened up the restrictions on nightlife a bit, C M might be a long term prospect, though from the sound of it, Pattaya's night life is headed in the same downward spiral of doom. Oh, where did the sanuk go?

[newnative]

22 minutes ago, xminator said:

Guess its time Google drove its map car trough Pattaya and Jomtien again. 5 years is a long time in a place like Pattaya

So right--amazing how it has changed in those years, and continues to change rapidly.  And, this despite all those many postings proclaiming the city has died or is dying. 

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, newnative said:

So right--amazing how it has changed in those years, and continues to change rapidly.  And, this despite all those many postings proclaiming the city has died or is dying. 

The dead and dying postings are about the nightlife, not the city per se, and they are correct. Night life isn't even half as good as it used to be, and the authorities are seeking to drive a stake through the heart of whatever is left.

Meantime, because nothing is being done to restrict the number of vehicles on completely inadequate roads, or clear bottlenecks like parked cars etc, Pattaya is indeed becoming traffic hell.

I suggest taking an extended holiday when T 21 opens. At least till the promotions are over.

When Festival opened in Chiang Mai, there were queues out the door for the restaurants because of the specials, and they probably mostly came by private car. At least in C M they build all the people intensive new places on the superhighways, which are really excellent.

Guess the people building in Pattaya don't give a rat's bottom about the infrastructure, as long as they make a few zillion baht.

[balo]

I live in Naklua but I am optimistic, yes traffic will be bad but I have lived in Bangkok so I think it will work out better than you might think. Anyway I can walk to T21 in 10 minutes or so, looking forward to it.

 

 

[impulse]

5 hours ago, johng said:

I hope they have incorporated a very very big parking lot to cope with all the weekend Bangkokians.

 

Gotta say, I don't know anybody that leaves BKK on weekends to go shopping, or to find yet another franchise restaurant or food court like we have in dozens of malls on the MRT and BTS.  When I go to Jomtien for the weekend, about the only stores I visit are the TESCO or BigC to stock up the hotel fridge, or 7-11 because I forgot to pack something.

 

 

[NanLaew]

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

...or clear bottlenecks like parked cars...

Please advise soonest where you found these spaces to park cars in.

 

Thanks!

NL

[bkk6060]

Nakula will be the worst of all.  Last I checked that is a one lane road going toward the T21.  It backs up no just wait it will be a back up the likes never seen.   Those who are there good luck, would be best to invest in a motorbike if they want to go any place. 

[Destiny1990]

To many seaside malls in pats terminal 21 should have been built in Jomtien big mistake.

[jacko45k]

21 hours ago, johng said:

The entry and exit to "central" parking lot here in Pattaya is poorly thought out too,although a bit restricted by the long narrow plot of land.

They have "reserved" the whole 2nd floor parking for the 5 * hotel...why not reserve the top floor...ohh maybe because it can take an hour to get out of the carpark from the top floor and those hotel guests might not be too impressed.

Why do shoppers get priority over hotel guests in your mind?

Not sure who owns the parking lot but the hotel is integral to the shopping Mall.

 

Too many shopping Malls in Pattaya now, it is very much car unfriendly.

[bkk6060]

26 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

To many seaside malls in pats terminal 21 should have been built in Jomtien big mistake.

Big mistake for who?  T21 will be a huge success where it is at.  Probably would die a slow death in Jomtien.

[johng]

I would suggest that there are many more "shoppers"
(ok aircon bathers and window shoppers) than there are hotel guests so the majority should get priority.... ?
also they could have designed a separate entrance/exit linked directly and exclusively to the hotel parking levels.
Originally it was planed to have 2 hotel towers maybe in the redesign the parking lot situation got overlooked.

[Pungdo]

I've been in Pattaya now for a little over 10 years and the traffic kaos that is weekends here, really kicked off when the last floods happened in Bangkok, with hoards of them heading down here to escape the flooding, it was almost like they all said, WOW how long has this been here and then decided to spend every week-end down here.

In saying that, I can't quite remember when Central festival first opened, so it may just have coincided with that event.

[barryofthailand]

Why would people from Bangkok come all the way to Pattaya to go shopping when they have many more places in Bangkok? Bangkokians come to Pattaya for the beach which is a total waste filth and dirt but Thai people are use to that.

[Destiny1990]

29 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Big mistake for who?  T21 will be a huge success where it is at.  Probably would die a slow death in Jomtien.

I see that exactly the other way around.

[newnative]

1 hour ago, Destiny1990 said:

To many seaside malls in pats terminal 21 should have been built in Jomtien big mistake.

      Sorry, not a mistake at all.  We had this same discussion with Central Festival.   In a tourist town, you build a Festival or a T21 where the most people are.  Why?  Because most tourists don't have a car.   Where are most of the hotels?  Not Jomtien.  They are in Pattaya--and more are being built every day and established ones like Holiday Inn have doubled in size.  Amari just tore down its Garden Wing and is building 2 new luxury hotels to replace it.  Two other large, highrise hotels are about to be finished and Grand Palazzo was also recently built.  Plus lots of other new low-rise boutique hotels on the side sois. 

        Lots of tourists are in walking distance of T21 or a short baht taxi ride.   Many others will arrive by car or bus but who wouldn't want a large and growing  base of potential customers within walking distance.   Of course, Festival is a very big draw so other retail businesses want to be nearby to be in the same orbit. And it feeds on itself--each new attraction makes the area even more desirable and more popular.  So, the next big thing wants to be there, too.  Very similar to Vegas and the Vegas Strip--also a tourist town with lots of tourists without cars.  All the big name gambling houses want to be on the Strip, not in the suburbs.  Right now, Jomtien is the suburbs. 

      

[bkk6060]

Jomtien is whirlwind of activity the highlight being Foodmart.  Gosh, why would they need T21?

 

[hobobo]

22 hours ago, champers said:

Does anyone know where the entrance and exit points for vehicles will be located?

They don't know yet, they'll only decide when the building is finished.

[bert bloggs]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Gotta say, I don't know anybody that leaves BKK on weekends to go shopping, or to find yet another franchise restaurant or food court like we have in dozens of malls on the MRT and BTS.  When I go to Jomtien for the weekend, about the only stores I visit are the TESCO or BigC to stock up the hotel fridge, or 7-11 because I forgot to pack something.

 

 

You only have to look at the number plates on the cars at weekends , masses of  Bangkokians with Bangkok plates ,then there are the Rayongians  and the Satahipians etc etc .

[bkk6060]

5 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

You only have to look at the number plates on the cars at weekends , masses of  Bangkokians with Bangkok plates ,then there are the Rayongians  and the Satahipians etc etc .

Yes, the working professional Thais with money don't have lots of time during the week to shop or eat at the fancy places.  Many come to Pattaya on the weekends for holiday and spend money at the malls and restaurants.

[tpinvest]

You are all forgetting the real problem coming up on North Pattaya Rd - all the digging that is going to start in the roadway and

the footpath to bury the electric cabling.

Which genius planned North Rd to start this project?????