Editor;
Having visit Pattaya a few times, I’ve followed the local news media a bit, and read some time ago that an elevated skytrain has been proposed as a mass transit solution for Pattaya.
However, I wonder if the best solution to enhance the Pattaya corniche wouldn’t simply be just to build a rather traditional tramway (traditional-looking trams would fit very well into the towns image) running along both Pattaya and Jomtien beaches, and ban all motor traffic, except for police and emergency vehicles. It would be a far cheaper solution than a skytrain, and even a more pleasant and useful one. Such a solution would greatly enhance Pattaya’s beachfront, which now suffers from far too much motor traffic on the Beach Road. Then there would also be space to build really good pedestrian walkways too.
That said, the present system of shuttle buses operated by modified pickups isn’t a bad one, it’s both cheap, cheerful and fair to all users.
Yours sincerely,
Mr Janne Salonen
Helsinki, Finland
