PATONG'S bid to reverse the one-way system that makes traffic in Phuket's key seaside resort flow smoothly has itself been thrown into reverse by people from one small laneway.

Representatives of the private Soi Sansabai road are reluctant to approve the measure because they would find it ''inconvenient.''

A big meeting on Monday involving the key decision-makers of the one-way project broke up without progress being made because the representative from Soi Sansabai, which is the extension of Soi Bangla, prefers the one-way system to run clockwise.

But running the system clockwise creates dangerous hazards on the laneways that run between Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi and beach road. Cars and motorcycles are forced to transfer to right-hand side of the road, the wrong side.

It was intended to begin running the one-way system counter-clockwise before the Patong carnival, which begins on December 15. But the policeman in charge of Patong traffic, Colonel Jakkawat Boontree Kulsawat, of Kathu Police Station, told Phuketwan today there was now ''only a 50-50 chance'' it would be reversed by then.

Whichever way the one-way system runs, some people who have to travel short distances against the flow of the loop are bound to be inconvenienced.

This is one of the reasons why the walking paths along Patong's beachfront have become a deathtrap - motorcyclists use the walking tourist paths to ride against the flow of neighboring beach road.

Preechavude ''Prab'' Keesin, president of the Taxi Federation of Patong, sees the reversal of the one-way as a key to Patong's future development.

''When people arrive in Patong they really should be taken along the beachfront first,'' he told Phuketwan. ''At present the flow of traffic along Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi means they miss the beach entirely as they arrive.''

Khun Prab also believes that some of the major issues of parking by rental vehicles in key positions along the beachfront can be addressed in rerouting the traffic. It's even possible that the massive number of tuk-tuks parked along beach road could be reduced by using a call centre.

Not yet clear is whether the safety zebra crossings can be made to work at the same time as traffic is reversed to go counter-clockwise. Tourists become targets at present for the ceaseless and chaotic flow of one-way traffic.

It's also understood that Soi Sansbai, because it is a private street, has problems with road repairs. If thorough repairs are carried out, the street level will rise, leading to the likelihood of water flowing into ''lowered'' businesses.

If the street was ''gifted'' to the local Patong council tessaban administration, more complete drainage could become available.

Once noted for rising water levels in heavy storms, most of Patong is now well-served with drains and pumps. Soi Sansabai, however, is a relic of bygone days when many lanes were privately owned.