One Way Only For Nimmanhaemin Road
Popular Nimmanhaemin Road in Chiang Mai will soon become a little easier to drive on as you'll only be able to drive down it one way and odd Soi numbers 3-17 will also become one way only. They are doing this on a trial basis for 30 days from the 20th of January. Drivers are being asked to look out for new signs at the sois so you know which one you can enter and can't.
The idea is to ease congestion on Nimmanhaemin road which BTW isn't as congested as Huay Kaew road and this is just going to cause lots of problems elsewhere. If you're driving on the Super Highway and want to get to say the Salad Concept on Nimman now when you get to the Rincome intersection you'll have to turn left down Huay Kaow road, then right onto Sirimangkalajarn road then down your soi.
Problem is how many people have never come to Nimmanhaemin before and get lost in the Soi's. I know I've been lost plenty of times and we know how Thai people read maps their now going to circle endlessly back onto Huay Kaew road which is the most trafficked road in the city.
Supposedly this is to make it easier to park on the street which i don't see how that is going to help congestion at all and all this floundering around is pointless, take for example the other news story on the Chiang Mai mail the council just got a bunch of money for road planning for non-motorized vehicles which we all know is just $700,000USD to paint some lines on existing roads.
Any intelligent person will tell you the only way to ease congestion is to create a public transport system that is cheap and clean and replace these god awful red Song Taew busses from spewing more poluttion into the air.
These days you can buy an old bomb for less than 100,000 baht, which is within reach of any Thai person making more than 15,000 baht a month and even at that salary you could afford a loan on cheap new model vehicle, so it isn't going to get better anytime soon.
Making Nimmanheiman road a one way street is going to make it take longer to get in and out of Nimman than it did before and if I'm on the road longer so is everyone else how's that going to fix anything. They are probably just doing this for when the new Maya store opens up this year, just hope they have decent parking.
Hey! I think the Song Taew busses aren’t the ones causing real tradffic problems, and although they may be heavy polluters, they are actually helping pollution by keeping more cars and busses off the street…. if there weren’t Song Taews I would probaably get my own car or use a tuk tuk, which also cause pollution and more traffic.
Sure they are bro! They drive in two lanes never one, they stop where they shouldn’t stop and hold up traffic while people get on. The vehicles spewing the most smoke out of their ass are the Song Taew’s, you sit inside them but I ride behind them bro! If there weren’t song taews but say natural gas busses you’d be using them and so would more people. If the Song Taew’s were efficient like they are in Khon Kaen I wouldn’t have a problem with them. BTW the Song Taews in Khon Kaen are only 10 baht are super clean and only stop at bus stops. Phitsanulok has metered taxis and Chiang Mai just has problems.
agreed – a pain in the arse – badly maintained and selfish
get the BTS built along Huay Kaew! blow up the Song Tows and Tuk Tuk’s! pave over Nimman and Loi Khro!
😛
Blow up the Song Tows I totally agree with that!
http://www.livingthai.org/sky-train-in-chiang-mai.html
Dig it all up…and make some klongs !!! with Venetian style gondoliers.
Just picture Loi Khroa Rd. as a gentle, meandering water canal…
…and as you are paddled down the “Klong Loi Khro “,some of the girls are throwing out little grappling hooks to ensnare your vessel. 555555555555
Cheers All…