Motorbike barriers of Southeast Asia

Examples of bike blockers in cities around Southeast Asia. From the thoughtfully designed barriers that allow wheelchair access, to pedestrian-hostile metal bars.

In my research trips around Southeast Asia, I like to walk as often as possible to get a feel for the city I am in. It’s a tough region for flâneurs, as sidewalks are often broken or nonexistent. The notable exception is Singapore, and I have previously written about how sidewalks are the secret sauce to simulating Singapore’s success in Southeast Asia cities.

Another problem with urban walking in Southeast Asia is that where there are sidewalks, they become auxiliary bike lanes during peak-hour traffic. Cities have taken different approaches to try to stop bikes from riding on sidewalks, with motorbike barriers being used as a physical block when law enforcement doesn’t work.

I have been taking photos of good and bad examples of motorbike barriers in Southeast Asia, and I will keep adding to this list when I encounter another barrier. I am also accepting photos from readers who have seen good and bad bike barriers. Send me your photos if you would like to add to the list (it can be anonymous or I can add your name with a link to your site).

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Jakarta

This bike barrier in Jakarta is designed to allow wheelchairs through while blocking access to motorbikes.

Bali

In my travels around Southeast Asia, I would say that Bali has the worst motorbike traffic congestion outside of Vietnam. Bali’s road system is a dysfunctional mess, and motorbikes resort to sidewalks as a temporary bike lane when traffic is gridlocked.

I have not seen many bike blockers in Bali, but here is a reel of a rider attempting to pass through a bike blocker.

This bike blocker looks like a citizen’s attempt to tame bike traffic.

Palembang

This is a textbook example of the laziest type of bike blocker.

Also in Palembang is this example of a bike blocker that allows pedestrians to pass through.

Surabaya

This creative bike blocker in Surabaya allows wheelchair access through the two stick figures.

 

 🇲🇾 Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

In a perfect world, there shouldn’t be the need for a “No Motorbikes” sign, let alone a motorbike barrier.

Kuala Lumpur has been rolling out these motorbike barriers across the city that allow wheelchair access.

Penang

This bike barrier in Penang is shaped to allow wheelchairs through.

Fort Cornwallis underwent moat restoration and landscaping in 2025. A wheelchair gate was added, but the path around the moat is not wheelchair-friendly.

🇸🇬 Singapore

Maybe you didn’t expect to see Singapore on this list. Singapore is a fine city, but sometimes fines aren’t enough when there is a path as tempting as this for motorbikers to turn into a shortcut.

🇹🇭 Thailand

Bangkok

Bangkok has the problem of motorbikes on sidewalks, though the lack of long and clear sidewalks is a natural obstacle. If I encounter a motorbiker riding on the sidewalk, I will sometimes not get out of the way until they stop in front of me. A Japanese woman made the news with this tactic when she blocked bikers and directed them to use the road.

I have seen several iterations of bike blockers in Bangkok over the years. The most cost-effective deterrent is a sign reminding riders that there is a fine.

By 2025, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) started rolling out signs that proclaimed that AI cameras are now used to detect motorbikes on sidewalks. I don’t know how these are different from regular traffic cameras that have been successfully used to fine motorists for decades, but I welcome the use of AI for more practical purposes instead of being used for writing articles about things to do in Bangkok.

I like barriers that have the least amount of tight corners for a wheelchair.

Painting a wheelchair sign seems redundant, as it is obvious to the wheelchair user where to go. Wheelchair signs should be used to instruct when the alternative path is not obvious.

This motorbike barrier is in front of a school, though as you can see, it is not going to work.

Motorbike barriers should be mandatory in front of schools, and it shouldn’t be up to the school to sponsor them.

I returned to this location on another trip and saw that they had plugged the gap with some potted plants.

Bangkok installed more motobike barriers on Sukhumvit Road in 2026, to mixed reviews.

Khon Kaen

This park has a ramp with a wheelchair-friendly gradient that is also protected by a bike blocker.

Pattaya

Pattaya has one of the nicest beachfront promenades in Thailand. Yes, the beach itself is not great, but few beaches in Thailand have so many kilometres of uninterrupted beach walk.

It would be a shame to ruin the beach walk with bike blockers, so Pattaya have signs reminding you that there is a 1000 baht fine for driving on the sidewalk.

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Ahh, Vietnam, the motorbike capital of Southeast Asia, and possibly the world.

Ho Chi Minh City

I have spent most of my time in Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, and I have watched the city try to tame bike traffic over the years.

In the 2010’s, the deputy chairman of District 1, Doan Ngoc Hai, became known as Captain Sidewalk in the local media when he spearheaded a campaign to clear the sidewalks. He became a minor local celebrity for taking on this Sisyphean task of clearing the sidewalks, only to have them revert to how they were the next day.

Part of the problem was that the city was trying to remove street vendors from the sidewalks, when the biggest grievance is the motorbikes that use the sidewalks as a road.

I am quite happy to walk along a sidewalk with vendors, as long as they are not completely blocking the way. The vendors are what give the city character. What doesn’t give the city character is the threat of being mown down by a motorbike on a footpath.

Mr Hai ended up resigning from the government and took up a job providing free ambulance services for the poor. Thank you for your service, Captain Sidewalk.

After the Captain Sidewalk era, the city started installing motorbike barricades in the old city area where there are tempting sidewalks to use as shortcuts.

The lower barrier in the middle allows wheelchairs to pass over, while theoretically blocking motorbikes. I have seen some of the barricades mangled by motorbikes that have forced their way through.

Bikes will also go around the barricades if there is enough of a gap.

The installers of the bike barricades underestimated the Saigonese’s ability to find a shortcut in bad traffic.

A partial bike barricade is completely useless in this city.

This bike barrier is a classic sidewalk design fail. This is on Nguyen Canh Huu Street, which went through a major renovation to fix flooding issues.

One of the problems with the sidewalks of Vietnam is that the gutters are angled to allow motorbike access. This is useful for where parking is allowed, but there should be a hard gutter for where bikes are not allowed. A hard gutter here would have eliminated the need for the bar. It would have been even better if there had been a nature strip along the gutter instead. A nature strip is a natural bike barrier, and it also helps soak up rainwater instead of flowing onto the street.

Ironically, this road was rebuilt as it was always flooding, so they should have added more nature strips to soak up water runoff.

For example, this nature strip on Ly Tu Trong doubles as a motorbike barricade.

The sidewalk around the Reunification Palace is a good example of how a hard gutter deters motorbikes from trying to take a shortcut.

This bike barrier was added when the riverside walk was renovated. The blocks were added when it was discovered that bikes were still entering the walkway.

This single-bar bike barrier is on one of the major roads in the middle of the city.

This barrier is narrow, and I’m not sure if a wheelchair could fit through it.

An older barricade with a nature strip as an extra deterrent.

Saigonese like to sit by the river on their bike, so this bike blocker was an attempt to keep the riverfront walk for pedestrians.

Bikes were still getting through, so the gap was removed, and a single barrier now blocks everything in its way. A desire path soon formed around the blockage.

Perhaps the most effective way to stop bike riding on sidewalks is to have a law that bans the practice. This occurred in 2025, when hefty fines were imposed for driving on sidewalks. I was in Ho Chi Minh City not long after the new crackdown, and it was noticeable that bikes were not riding on sidewalks. This change of habit even made the news in The New York Times.

Traffic has since crept back onto the sidewalks, though riders are generally more cautious before the Tet holiday, when the police are out in force looking to fine anything that moves.

Phan Rang-Thap Cham

A seaside promenade ruined by a single-bar bike blocker.

Ha Long City

Another lazy single-bar barricade.

This bike barrier is even worse, as there is enough metal to have made an opening for pedestrians and wheelchairs. Why go to all this effort to make an elaborate barrier while still being pedestrian-hostile?

Sapa

This would have been a pleasant walk around the lake if it weren’t for the bike barrier with no pedestrian access.

Other countries

I will collect examples of good motorbike barriers from around the world in this section.

China

At Nanning Railway Station, I was greeted by this sturdy bike blocker at the main exit.

I was soon to discover that Nanning is teeming with electric scooters, and bikes are parked wherever there is a spare space on the pavement.