Banglamung District Chief
Sakchai Taengho (center), along with Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh (left)
and Pol. Col. Prasert Jaikla (right), of the 14th Military Circle meet with
relevant authorities (not shown) about local transportation issues.
Jetsada Homklin
Local officials are considering making Jomtien Beach Road a one-way
street to improve the area’s traffic flow.
At an Aug. 26 meeting on local transportation issues, Banglamung District
Chief Sakchai Taengho said the move would double the number of lanes
vehicles can use and allow tour buses, minivans and taxis to stop without
blocking half the traffic lanes, similar to Pattaya Beach Road.
Attendees at the meeting - who included residents, minivan operators, the
Pattaya Business & Tourism Association and Pol. Col. Prasert Jaikla, of the
14th Military Circle - raised numerous objections to the proposal.
They pointed out that, unlike Pattaya, where Second Road is located
relatively close to Beach Road, the main connections between Jomtien Beach
and Second roads are the much-longer Chaiyapruek and Bunkachana streets.
That, they said, will make transit times much longer and more difficult.
In the end, the panel agreed that more study and more meetings were needed
before anything was changed.
Also on the agenda at the transport meeting were progress updates on
motorcycle-taxi registration, Pattaya Beach bus stops and accidents at the
Pratamnak Hill curve.
Prasert said the military and police are still inspecting taxi sands and
have eliminated several as part of the effort to register drivers and lower
fares as has been done in Bangkok, but the work is ongoing.
Sakchai said that officials still want public-transport drivers to use Beach
Road’s bus stops - even though they aren’t - and, toward that end, a new
stop was added in front of the Amari Orchid Resort & Tower.
As for the steep Pratamnak curve, six-wheeled trucks have been prohibited on
the steep, twisting roadway in hopes of reducing accidents.
