Kuta more crowded as number of visitors soars

Kuta, the island’s top tourist destination, has been choked by severe gridlock over the last few weeks as tourists compete for space along the area’s narrow streets, a situation compounded by ongoing sidewalk and sewerage repair work.

Laila, who lives in Tuban, near Ngurah Rai International Airport, said she needed to leave her home one hour before work despite living only 20 minutes by motorcycle from her work place in Seminyak if there is no traffic.

“The road is getting more crowded because there are many construction projects, that’s why I need to go to work one hour earlier,” said the woman who works at a clothing shop in Seminyak.

Hadi Sutrisno from Bali’s Association of Travel Agents said he preferred to take his guests to other locations on the island to find a hotel, such as Nusa Dua, Sanur and Ubud.

“We still help tourists who want to stay in the Kuta area, but we always inform them earlier about the traffic condition in Kuta to avoid complaints. Traffic in Kuta has gotten worse with the ongoing construction projects,” he said.

Kuta remains an attractive place for tourists, especially those visiting the island for the first time.

December is the traditional peak season for the island’s tourism, with hotel occupancy usually ranging from 90 to 100 percent in the main tourist areas.

“For those who like to stay near the beach and like night entertainment, Kuta is the right place to be. But for those who prefer serenity and convenience, other places are better.”

If his guests choose to stay in Kuta, he suggests that they walk around in the area rather than use transportation.

Some construction projects are still underway in Kuta, including on Jl. Raya Tuban, Legian, and on the street heading to Kuta Beach. Even in normal times, there is severe traffic in the area, as Kuta’s roads are very narrow, and there are many junctions.

Hadi said that the police should monitor every junction in Kuta all day long, because impatient motorists often broke the rules of the road to make headway in traffic jams, which only caused more traffic.

“The police should have anticipated this. They should stand on every junction, just as they do every time a VIP uses the street.”

He said he regretted that traffic police were not always on duty during times of peak traffic despite promising that they would be.

I Made Sutama, head of the Badung Transportation Agency, said that he often heard complaints about the traffic in Kuta.

However, he said, there was not much the agency could do about the problem because there was little if any room to build new roads or widen existing roads, while the number of tourists continued to rise.