Pattaya residents still are complaining about trees and Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome said he’s willing to listen to suggestions, but the landscaping-procurement plan already is set.
The city’s latest, 166-million-baht facelift of Pattaya Beach calls for the widening of Beach Road to accommodate 700 parking spaces. To do that, trees must be moved away from the current street line.
Sonthaya said people erroneously thought the beachfront trees were old – they’re not – and complained vigorously – mostly anonymously online – when contractors began to prune or remove them.
The trees aren’t old. Most were planted in 2013 during the last big landscaping job. And the trees that were totally removed were already dead and could collapse on people, Sonthaya said.
Other trees simply were uprooted and will be replanted. Of the shoreline’s 900 trees, 75 percent will be reused, he said.
The mayor acknowledged people did not see the entire project plan and may have misunderstood the final result based on 3-D renderings released to the media. So city hall will have artists create 2-D illustrations covering al views of the beach.
The mayor said he is willing to take feedback on how the final landscaping layout should look, even though people had ample opportunity to speak up at several public hearings held over the past two years.
However, while the design could be changed, the composition of the trees and footpath are already set.
 |
 |
 |
