A ban on turning onto Made Lebah Street has moved Ubud's traffic jam onto the surrounding streets. Drivers coming from the south — from Nyuh Kuning, Lodtunduh and Singakerta — can no longer turn onto it. On Tuesday, at rush hour, traffic in the new spots was just as backed up as it had been on the first day.
Made Lebah itself and the approaches to Monkey Forest have cleared up. But the congestion simply followed the traffic: cars that lost their usual turn now take Sugriwa Street and run into Raya Ubud.
Most of the vehicles crossing that intersection are just passing through on their way to the north of the island. The transport authority explains the heavy volume by drivers sticking to Google Maps: the navigation app routes them exactly this way.
No end date for the trial has been given: the layout was announced as a test, and there is no rush to make it permanent — the transport authority and the traffic police will decide together based on how things go. They acknowledge that the congested points have merely shifted, and they are discussing an additional exit through Peliatan to spread the traffic out further.
This is not the first time the traffic layout in Ubud has been changed: two weeks ago two turns were closed at the Sayan interchange, and before that the town announced repairs to its sidewalks and roads.
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