Motorbikes can now drive on Patong Hill road
After the road on Patong Hill collapsed due to landslides last week, officials are now letting motorbikes drive on the road again. Phuket Governor Narong said the decision was made to relieve the burden on people who need to travel across the hill every day, especially young students.
Narong declared the road open to motorbikes last night. However, cars are still banned from crossing the hill.
Narong said that various agencies were working to come up with ways people could access Patong by both walking routes and roads. He noted, however, that there are a large number of people who need to cross the hill now that the new school semester has started. Narong said that this jolted the provincial government to urgently find a way to help people.
“Every day, tens of thousands of people have to park their motorcycles and travel on foot from Kathu to the Patong area.”
Narong added that police, military personnel, and local administration officers will regulate traffic so that the road can remain open to motorbikes 24 hours a day. Motorbikes are allowed over the hill in both directions, but restricted to the hillside of the lane past the danger zone, some 500 metres below the Patong City sign, The Phuket News reported.
This news comes after the road reopened to pedestrians on Sunday. The Phuket Express reported that many students walked down to the school from Patong Hill on the first day since schools had reopened. Some parents carried their children who are still too young to walk on the hill.
Meanwhile, officers are continuing to improve the walking path up the hill from the Bang Thong Monastery in Kathu to the Chao Por Suea Shrine at the top of the hill, Narong said.
