Vientiane Tries to Tackle Traffic Congestion

As reported by the Vientiane Times (January 9 2013), the Lao government plans to increase traffic police in Vientiane as one of the proposed ways to assist in dealing with the traffic jams and congestion that now permeate many of the main roads in the city, in particular Lane Xang Avenue, Setthathirath, Kaysone Phomvihane, Nongbone, Asean, Samsenthai and the 105-bed Hospital roads.

 Other ideas on the table:

• the media helping to relay traffic news
• banning parking along specific roads at specific times
• banning heavy trucks at certain times
• making tuk tuks drive in their own specific lanes
• car parks
• increasing public transportation
• driver education in schools
• better enforcement of construction laws - Many people have built commercial property in areas where there are no car parks, forcing people to park on roadsides and blocking narrow streets.

According to city officials, there are 556,000 vehicles in Vientiane while the total population of the city is 850,000 people.

For more reading:
http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/FreeContent/FreeConten_Vientiane%20eyes.htm