With most of the city’s pedestrian-crossing lights broken for the past decade, Pattaya’s tourists can be forgiven for jaywalking.
That hasn’t stopped some locals from complaining about those crossing against the light on North Road by the Terminal 21 shopping mall. They say it slows down traffic and risks accidents.
The signal – which allows people to cross the busy thoroughfare to catch baht buses headed to Sukhumvit Road and the Pattaya Bus Station – actually does work. But the 15-second delay before the light changes to green apparently is too long for many visitors.
Of course, frequent visitors to Pattaya probably just assume the light is broken, as so many are. A random check on Beach Road found one of two lights broken with a police officer doing the work of a mechanical light outside the Soi 9 police station and Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
Traffic and transport officials claimed as recently as last March that the much-maligned pedestrian-crossing lights do, in fact, all work, but a lack of enforcement has allowed drivers to simply ignore them.
Seventeen of the 42 signals installed in 2010 are located on Beach Road and were repaired before the International Fleet Show in 2017, as were lights on Second Road. Those away from sight of the VIPs were ignored, however.
Even Pattaya police have been guilty of ignoring red lights, as videos have shown over the years. The police force’s lack of enforcement has made drivers feel comfortable in doing the same.
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