Traffic, Trauma and Terrorism

There's an old scientific phrase coined by one of these names we forget when we leave the science block at school, which says 'everything tends to chaos in the long term'.

What, you may ask, has that got to do with being on holiday on Bali? Everything, of course, but more precisely on the subject of traffic and parking!

I have a particular and increasing irritation with the complete lack of ability (or is it interest?) in the management of traffic in Bali. It is simply terrible and it seems to be getting worse.

At this point in the recovery process of Bali tourism, we are welcoming only about 50% of the "pre-bomb" tourist volume to the island, which in itself is sad, but the streets are still crowded, the parking chaotic and the traffic jams frequent. What will happen when we get back to 'normal' or, heaven forbid, even succeed in welcoming a lot more visitors?

The answer: it will be a mess. So why worry, just be patient like the millions of people who commute in Jakarta and other big cities every day, you may say. But I strongly beg to differ.

The total enjoyment of a holiday is predicated on the principals of comfort, convenience and relaxation, none of which is associated with poor traffic! Who wants to sit in traffic when you could already be at the beach, the bird park or the bar? Who wants to even bother going to Uluwatu or Ubud or even across town to Seminyak if you face horrendous traffic jams? Frankly no-one- and this means that Bali tourism will eventually become regionalized – you stay in the area you want to enjoy and don't venture much further. In fact this has already begun to happen as people lose their hope that the traffic will be improved. This is sad, there's just too much to see on Bali to have this restriction.

We simply must not allow this to happen and we have to start NOW to have a fully integrated system of transportation, or Bali, like Jakarta, Bangkok and many other cities around the world will become virtually unlivable just because of traffic.

What to do? The answers, as usual, lie all in front of us but need strong courageous, visionary management from the local government to make it happen. Here are my ideas:

First: create secure, well managed parking areas in convenient places. Many of these exist but are entirely ignored – and certainly not secure or managed (eg. next to Ace Hardware in Kuta!) These should be on the outskirts of Kuta, Legian, Nusa Dua, Seminyak, Sanur and Ubud.

Second: ban all parking in vital roads especially Jl. Kuta Legian and the Kuta foreshore. No excuses, no 'waiting', no motorcycles, nothing – just clean empty streets.

Third: introduce real public transportation which allows people to hop on and off along all major routes, at cheap prices and frequent regular schedules until late at night. (This is how Bali used to function with 'Demos' just 15 years ago!)

Fourth: start to control private car and motorcycle ownership by registering them – yes again- locally. Singapore has the right idea (even though we love to hate them!) with the CEO system (Certificate of Entitlement). A small island simply can't allow the luxury of one car/one person even if they are the rich owners of huge luxury villas!

Fifth: Control the size and routes of trucks and buses. It is a nightmare trying to get around the narrow village roads behind the enormous, overloaded belching monster trucks and equally unsuitable mammoth tourist buses. This can be done now with the right regulation – and enforcement.

Sixth: Let's also understand that motorcycles are not somehow excluded from the same rules! The proliferation of nasty buzzing creatures also has to be limited and controlled – and please – behave! Sitting on a motorcycle does not exempt you from the rules of society and the traffic regulations. Yes Bali expats that includes you!

And I can go on! But let's at least get started with the basics. Bali is first and foremost a cultural tourism destination and needs peace, tranquility and calm at its core. To achieve this we must preserve the streets from the utter chaos they are currently heading towards.

Nevertheless, please do not interpret this as an excuse to just hand out traffic fines at twice the speed and value without first implementing the above steps. That is not the answer. What this will also do is send a message to all who want to damage Bali, the terrorists and the haphazard developers (who I put in the same bracket) and this is : we are in control, we manage the peace and security of our streets, we create a visible and calm environment. So watch out for Bali because we are watching you!

Happy – I hope – traveling!