It’s all kicking off in Uluwatu this week. As peak season travel gets underway in Bali, the island’s most popular surf hotspot is seeing big full moon swells, a new traffic management system, and work behind the scenes to redevelop the beloved Bingin Beach.
With all this change afoot, local residents and loyal Uluwatu lovers are raising concerns over tourism development in this idyllic pocket of the Bukit.
Uluwatu lovers have this week been shocked by a scene shared by local resident and community leader Piter Panjaitan of the state of the Uluwatu Sea Wall after the full moon tidal swells.
Panjaitan shared a video on his social media of the highly contentious project side as the tidal swells were dissipating. The video was simply captioned “Is it gonna be able to hold multiple swells incoming?” Comments from community members were scathing in their condemnation of the Uluwatu Sea Wall and the impact the project had on the famous cliffside leading to Uluwatu Temple.
By far the biggest news coming out of Uluwatu this week is the launch of the new traffic management system. If you’re heading to Uluwatu this week, we advise you to remember to pack your patience; the adjustment period has certainly started.
Local leaders are hopeful that once drivers have adjusted to the new traffic flow system, congestion will be drastically reduced. The new traffic flow came into effect on Tuesday, 2nd June, and will be on trial for 14 days.
The new policy is being seen as a quick win on the instructions of the Regent of Badung, Wayan Adi Arnawa, to reduce the severe congestion that often occurs in the tourist area.
Speaking to reporters, the Head of the Badung Transportation Agency, Anak Agung Gede Rahmadi, acknowledged that the traffic congestion situation in the Uluwatu-Pecatu area is a very serious problem. During peak hours, tourists and local residents are often stuck in traffic jams, sometimes lasting more than three hours, on journeys that are less than 20km.
Rahamdi told reporters, “Every day, traffic on the route to Pecatu and the other way is always congested. The journey can take up to three hours or even more.”
To help keep everyone moving in the right direction, the Badung Transportation Agency has stationed officers at several points prone to traffic jams, including the Nirmala Intersection. Rahmadi added, “We are fully collaborating with the police to manage human and vehicle circulation, as well as installing permanent barricades, prohibition signs, and traffic cones/delineators.”
There are three major changes now in effect. The first is that vehicles from Jalan Raya Uluwatu are prohibited from going to Toya Ning II Road. The second is that vehicles from Toya Ning II Street traveling towards Jalan Raya Uluwatu are prohibited from turning right.
The third new rule is that all vehicles, except motorcycles, from the intersection of Jalan Baler Setra – Jalan Belimbing Sari are prohibited from entering Jalan Raya Uluwatu. These rules are only in effect from 2 pm to 10 pm. From 10 pm to 1 am, the traffic flow is as it was before.
While it will take some time to get used to the new system, proof that changing traffic flow can be a positive thing is already coming in from Bali’s Denpasar, where a similar traffic engineering system was introduced yesterday along Jalan Hang Tuah–Jalan Danau Beratan.
One local resident told reporters on Tuesday, 2nd, that everything seemed to be working well. Ali Saptura told reporters, “It’s running pretty smoothly now. There’s no need to queue like before. There are some areas that have to be turned around, but the traffic flow is more organized.” All eyes are now on Uluwatu!
While big changes are happening on Uluwatu’s roads, progress seems slow over at Bingin Beach. Last month, the Head of the Badung Regency Public Works and Spatial Planning (PUPR) Agency, I Nyoman Karyasa, told reporters that the initial design for the redevelopment of Bingin Beach has already been socialized to residents of Pecatu Village. Work is set to start later this year.
Though an article published last week by international surf magazine Tracks highlighted how it is the local community who are focusing on creating a sense of normalcy after the demolition work, despite fears that even bigger changes and bigger tourism developments could be on the horizon.
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