RESIDENTS of Hlaing Tharyar township in Yangon’s outskirts have got the bottleneck blues – getting in and out of their neighbourhood during rush hour is just getting harder and harder.
Hlaing Tharyar is spacious, green, not too far from downtown as the crow flies – and a serious pain to get to or from when traffic is heavy.
The problem is the narrow, two-lane Bayint Naung bridge, intensively used by cars, buses and taxis, and by trucks heading to or from the nearby Bayint Naung Commodities Centre. Rain or an accident on the bridge can add a couple of hours to the commute time. The main alternative route, via the Aung Zaya bridge in Insein township, is usually clearer, but the wrong direction for trips to or from downtown.
U Tun Min Latt, a real estate agent for FMI Garden City in Hlaing Tharyar, said: “The traffic on the Bayint Naung bridge is heavy from 8 to 10am and then again from 4:30 to 6pm. Monday is the worst because there are more trucks from the Bayint Naung Commodities Exchange Centre.
“It would be nice if the road could be broadened from two lanes to four. The way is also blocked when a car breaks down on the bridge, which seems to happen more frequently in the rainy season,” he said, citing the increased volume of cars and public transport on the narrow bridge.
“Some residents take the longer way to avoid heavy traffic. It takes 15 minutes longer to go via the Aung Zaya bridge,” he said. The problem seems to have worsened in the past five months or so, he said.
“It’s inconvenient for township residents who have to travel at rush hour, but the bottleneck hasn’t seriously affected the housing market for FMI Garden City. Although some have moved back downtown region, there’s always another family to take their place. Prices have remained steady because it’s close to the industrial area and the commodities centre. And some buyers choose this area to avoid the metropolitan lifestyle,” he said.
FMI Garden City resident Daw Thandar said that despite power cuts, the neighbourhood got more crowded every year. “Electricity shortage is a common problem wherever you live, so that’s no reason not to live here. Most of the houses in the compound are occupied these days. Everything is OK for me, but my children often face traffic jams on their way home,” she said, which can delay them a couple of hours.
