Officials in Vientiane are considering new measures to ease traffic congestion during rush hours as more vehicles take to the streets of the formerly sleepy Laos capital.
Traffic travels past the Victory Monument in Vientiane, Laos, in this file photo from 2011. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg.
Short-term plans include a ban on parking cars on main roads, with no heavy trucks allowed downtown during the morning and evening rush hours, Vientiane Vice Mayor Keophilavanh Amphaylath told the Vientiane Times.
The city will deploy more police to direct better traffic flow, he added.
Vientiane has a population of 850,000, with 556,000 vehicles registered in the city, according to authorities. Well-known Lane Xang Avenue, Setthathirath and Samsenthai are among the most congested roads in the city.
The traffic problem has become so serious that Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad recently called a meeting of city officials and cabinet members to discuss tackling it.
Deputy Public Works and Transport Minister Lattanamany Khounivong said traffic congestion was due to the rising number of vehicles on the streets and inadequate roads to cope with the surge.
More roads should be built to accommodate more cars and other vehicles in Vientiane, he added.
Officials in Vientiane are considering new measures to ease traffic congestion during rush hours as more vehicles take to the streets of the formerly sleepy Laos capital.
Traffic travels past the Victory Monument in Vientiane, Laos, in this file photo from 2011. Brent Lewin/Bloomberg.
Short-term plans include a ban on parking cars on main roads, with no heavy trucks allowed downtown during the morning and evening rush hours, Vientiane Vice Mayor Keophilavanh Amphaylath told the Vientiane Times.
The city will deploy more police to direct better traffic flow, he added.
Vientiane has a population of 850,000, with 556,000 vehicles registered in the city, according to authorities. Well-known Lane Xang Avenue, Setthathirath and Samsenthai are among the most congested roads in the city.
The traffic problem has become so serious that Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad recently called a meeting of city officials and cabinet members to discuss tackling it.
Deputy Public Works and Transport Minister Lattanamany Khounivong said traffic congestion was due to the rising number of vehicles on the streets and inadequate roads to cope with the surge.
More roads should be built to accommodate more cars and other vehicles in Vientiane, he added.
They can deploy all they want, but it is not going to work because they put everything in the same place. why not spread them out through out the country ? Read my lips, Vientiane will be like Bangkok, a compact city..... and traffic, a polluted from carbon dioxide...
In the first world country, no traffic police needed. In Poorest country, you see police everywhere and they are ready to ask for money to buy water from you
They need to build more multi-stories parking lot (like the one near Talat Sao Mall).
And, sooner or later, they'll have to build the "elevated" highway(s) in or around the city's center.
Are you serious? That made me laugh so much. You want to build a "parking lot" to solve a "traffic" problem. They did not say there was a problem finding parking. They can't even build a simple road, how the heck do you think they will build an "elevated highway(s)"? Vientiane is not even a city, it's a village.
You want to know what the real problem is about traffic in Vientiane? People don't know how to drive. All it takes is one idiot who wants to do a u-turn and stop all the traffic in both directions. I've been in some traffic jams, and it's always been some idiot trying to do something stupid that creates the traffic jam. Who goes first, you have to fight your way through and if no one stops, then you are stuck there and everyone else behind you. I've even been in traffic jams where the whole reason that there is traffic was because the road was so bad that everyone had to slow down to almost a stop, just to cross the holes in the road.
Answer: There are no traffic rules/laws, so how does adding more police solve that if they don't even know what they are doing. If you are rich enough to buy a car, guess what, you can drive in Laos. The rest can buy motorcycles that can cut off other cars since the bigger car is always wrong in an accident.
They need to build better roads first, then lay down the rules and laws and make people abide by them by not having corrupt police. Since corruption will always be in Laos, there will be no better roads or police.
I drove in Laos down a one way street going the wrong way and cop stopped me on his bike. I gave him $10 and continued down the wrong way on the one way street. I love Laos. I love corruption.