Bali Police Tackle Illegal Parking In Sanur So Tourists Don’t Miss Boat Departures

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Sanur Habor is the busiest fast boat and ferry harbor in Bali. The port welcomes thousands of tourists every day who are traveling between the main island of Bali, the Nusa Islands, the Gili Islands, and Lombok.

Traffic congestion leading to the Sanur Habor parking area has been notably bad over the last few months, often due to illegally parked cars.

Bali Police, along with officers from the Denpasar City Government, have been cracking down on illegally parked vehicles along the Ngurah Rai Bypass Road that leads into Sanur Habor.

Although the volume of traffic contributes to traffic congestion in the area, much of the backlog of vehicles can be attributed to illegally parked cars that block the free flow of traffic along the bypass.

This has increased the risk of tourists missing their boats to the outlying islands and potentially missing out on long-awaited bucket list adventures. 

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Bali Police and supporting officers from the transport department have been conducting patrols this week and have issued several tickets and warnings to drivers and vehicle owners who have been abandoning their vehicles along the bypass. 

The Head of the Denpasar City Transportation Department, I Ketut Sriawan, explained to reporters that the traffic and road transport patrols carried out by the Bali Police and the Denpasar City Government were part of a continuous effort to maintain traffic order and security, especially in the Sanur area.

They are on a mission to ensure that the tourism resort and the supporting infrastructure remain safe, comfortable, and orderly for tourists. 

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Sriwan told reporters, “In general we can say that we still find many passenger vehicles, either dropping off or picking up, who park their vehicles on the side of the road. This is very annoying for other drivers, and often causes traffic jams.”

He has also called for GoJek and Grab drivers to park sensibly as they wait for their next call out. He noted that parking on the side of the bypass, or the road leading into the Sanur Habor car park is not appropriate and plays a huge role in traffic congestion.

He also took the opportunity to call on all drivers, especially tourist taxi drivers to ensure that all their driver’s licenses and vehicle paperwork are in order so that should they be stopped by the police as part of a routine check the stop can be quick and efficient. 

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Sriwan added, “By enforcing traffic discipline in Denpasar City, we invite all drivers to implement the spirit of vasudhaiva kutumbakam [the world as one family] to maintain the beautiful and comfortable comfort of Denpasar City through traffic order and road transportation.”

Tourists planning their trips to Sanur Habor should leave more time than GoogleMaps or online SatNavs suggest.

Although Bali Police have been cracking down on illegal parking around Sanur Harbor, during peak rush hour the traffic does mount up in the area. 

To help mitigate the traffic congestion in the long term the provincial government has committed to constructing a new 6km stretch of road that will provide direct access from the Ngurah Rai Bypass to Sanur Harbor, eliminating the need for tourist vehicles to travel through residential areas.

This will help speed up travel times and make it easier for taxi drivers to drop off and pick up tourists.

The provincial government and supporting parties are in the process of acquiring the land needed to get the project off the ground, but there are hopes that construction will be underway in early 2024; likely after the elections. 

Sanur is preparing to welcome a huge influx of tourists in 2024. Not only will the family-friendly resort welcome back its faithful crowd of holidaymakers who make the pilgrimage to the resort year after year, but also a whole new demographic of travelers. 

In early 2024 the Bali International Hospital will open in Sanur. The private hospital is set to position Bali as a leading medical tourism destination in Southeast Asia, offering both emergency care in an intensive care unit and elective healthcare in cardiology, neurology, gastroenterology, and orthopedics.