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Traffic Threatens Bali's Tourism Industry
Made Arya Kencana | December 13, 2011

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mikebali
8:15pm Dec 29, 2011

I have lived in Bali for 5 years the under pass will just fill up with traffic as so many hotels are being built. The Kuta road system was put in place in the 1970's for horses and bicycles. It can not cope with the small Streets in Kuta being filled with taxis, hotel transport and delivery vehicles the road system is 40 years out of date. What ever you do Legian St will lock the whole area. We walk every where which is becoming more dangerous by the month. Talk to the traders in double 6 two huge hotels are being built at he end of a what should be one way road, they have problems getting to work.


Kesiangan
7:51pm Dec 13, 2011

Dez, these buses are a good initiative. We have to stay on the positive side. What Bali needs is a major goverment investment for public transport. A light-rail transit system for the Ngurah Rai - Kuta/Seminyak/Nusa Dua/Sanur area would solve a lot of problems if it is combined with a policy to drastically reduce private traffic in the same urban area.

The same goes for other areas. Ubud, for instance, is getting totally clogged up with traffic between July and October and what the almighty Cokorda's there should do is creating parking areas outside Ubud's city for buses and relocate the Ubud wet market.

DrDez
1:53pm Dec 13, 2011

Kesiangan

On the positive the new buses seem to be working quite well (despite my own misgivings) The current issue is the piles of sand all over the place as they put in new pavement covers - My chum in Sanur says that the new drains they put in a few months ago are open every day as gangs of workers are battling to keep them from silting up -

The new Simpang Siur underpass work should have started by now... oh dear


Kesiangan
11:30am Dec 13, 2011

The only solution is decent public transport and that's easier said than done. Building underpasses and flyovers might temporarily ease congestion, but will move the problem up the road in the longer run.

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Denpasar. Foreigners living in Bali say they can’t stand the island’s chronic traffic congestion, and that it is beginning to impact the tourism industry.

“The traffic really dampens the spirit of tourists visiting Bali, and there needs to be a solution,” said Radu Frentiu, a US citizen.

Radu, who has lived in Bali for four years and is the general manager of a hotel in the tourist district of Kuta, said complaints about the traffic were common.

“People often complain that they arrive at the hotel late, that wherever they want to go takes ages,” he said.

There are several areas, he added, that are prone to severe jams, including near the airport, the bypass road and in Kuta. Besides the congestion, he added, visitors also complain about the choking vehicle exhaust fumes.

Malaysian tourist Huzni Muit, a repeat visitor, said that over the years the traffic had worsened, especially in Kuta.

“If this problem isn’t dealt with soon, you will lose investors, many guests will stop coming and there will be no return on capital,” Huzni said.

Bali Tourism Alliance chairman Gusti Kade Sutawa called for the “classic” problem to be urgently addressed.

“It will indirectly slow Bali’s economic growth,” he said. “Eventually Bali will lose many tourists and investment. Bali’s special advantages will disappear.”

Construction on a new underpass expected to help ease the congestion in Kuta will start at the end of the year, said Susalit Alius, head of the project committee for National Road VII.

“While the roadwork is under way, road users will be inconvenienced a little,” he said. “We hope the public will understand that the underpass is being built to improve their lives.”