GRIDLOCKED HH

[richard]

From my 9th floor veranda I've just clocked a Ferrari (look alike) Take 25 mins from the BK hospital to Market village

Sh1t TIBK

The cars are crawling at maybe 5 kph from south to north. So night in for me with a Sandman (HMSS) recommended video and some eyecandy

[hhfarang]

^ Yep, I never leave the house on a holiday weekend, rarely on a normal weekend as the traffic is pretty bad even then because of Bankokians. I do all my shopping, bill paying, errands, etc on weekday mornings after the kiddies go to school, but before afternoon for less traffic... and when I go out to eat, it's nearly always lunch. Not worth the traffic and parking hassle at night anymore.

This is a good weekend to stay in and watch The Open anyway!

[lomuamart]

Just been over the road for some takeaways and the traffic certainly hasn't improved from the time of richard's OP - I live north of the town centre.
All those Bangkokians are going to take 6 hrs+++ to get home. Som nom na.

[STEVE G]

At times like that, a Honda Wave or a bicycle is the only way to get around.
A couple of years ago I took the Wave we had up to the village as it was getting a bit old and tried to get along with just the pickup.
After being in stuck in Hua Hin for a couple of busy weekends, I went straight down to Honda and bought another Wave.
Actually, on weekend I can easily beat the traffic through town on a mountain bike by going on back roads and over Hin Lek Fai pass. On some of the more bumpy sections like the unmade roads alongside the railway, I can easily outpace motorbikes. (Unless anyone turns up with a trials bike.)

[richard]

Spot on Steve

My regular taxi driver knows all the back roads and lanes so if I want to get to soi 51 from Condo Chain we take the first soi to get us close to the railway line and then zig zag it through the back streets until it is time hit Petcha and cross to 51

[sandman67]

Thats what you get when you try to run a major highway through a busy weekend holiday town where the inside lane is treated as a long stay car park, and get some retard with an IQ lower than his shoe size to program the traffic light shifts.

On an aside the clowns in the police station have done their ususal buggering about with traffic direction near me. The small cross train lines soi traffic has been made one way, using a side soi as the counterflow road. Problem is that the small side soi is very narrow and has a lovely blind bend at one end. Given the Thai predeliction to ignore the one way thing I predict a good few smashed up bikes and people on the bend in the immediate future.

Well thought out again plod-dicks.

[richard]

Well looking down on Petcha now and you could use it as a drag strip

Have all the Hi-sos gone home? Thought tomorrow was a holiday day too

[hollister]

A lot of the traffic jam is caused by the stupid way to close one line at u-turns instead of reserving that bit of lane to take the turning cars in, these cars have to merge into the lane thats going straight. What idiot had that idea.

[PeteC]

Well looking down on Petcha now and you could use it as a drag strip

Have all the Hi-sos gone home? Thought tomorrow was a holiday day too

Today must be some kind of holiday as well, as all my breakfast food shops over this side are closed this morning. Pete

[poosmate]

Today is a bank holiday carried over from Saturday.

[Homer]

A lot of the traffic jam is caused by the stupid way to close one line at u-turns instead of reserving that bit of lane to take the turning cars in, these cars have to merge into the lane thats going straight. What idiot had that idea.

Probably the same idiot who observed that without it U turns are tremendously more difficult. Narrowing oncoming traffic into one lane is what makes U turns possible when Petch has heavy traffic both ways.

[hhfarang]

Barricading the street (like at Soi 94 and 102) and allowing U-turns in only one place from the flyover to past Market Village is what causes the problem on the south end of town. The proper way to do it would be open those right and U turning points and put in timed traffic lights, as well as a light at Soi 88 (keep the police away from doing it manually!).

Imo that would make traffic flow much more smoothly, with stops by the lights to let folks turn onto and off of Petchkasem instead of slowly nosing out into traffic (Soi 88) Thai style and then getting caught by the other lanes causing a total block of everything. Even if it didn't help the traffic, it would save lives.

[hollister]

In Switzerland lots of traffic lights get replaced by roundabouts. Work extremly well and secure. No traffic jam, no lights to operate, built-in 360 turn

I first saw them in the UK back in 1983 attending a summer English class camp in Bournemouth. Took more than 20 yrs to import them ...

[hollister]

A lot of the traffic jam is caused by the stupid way to close one line at u-turns instead of reserving that bit of lane to take the turning cars in, these cars have to merge into the lane thats going straight. What idiot had that idea.

Probably the same idiot who observed that without it U turns are tremendously more difficult. Narrowing oncoming traffic into one lane is what makes U turns possible when Petch has heavy traffic both ways.

There is no need to narrow the traffic on the way into the turn, only to allow on the other side to let them exit.

If you sketch it onto a piece of paper you will immediately see what I am talking about. By reserving the inner row to turn only it automitally makes room for the opposite traffic turning into. The way it is done right now the inner line is blocked to no use. Turning cars first have to merge left then turn.

[hhfarang]

^ I can see the Thai motorbikes going round the wrong way!