Tourists coming to Pattaya next month for weekend music festivals will have to navigate broken sidewalks and fewer crossing signals.
Pattaya’s hopes of having beach sidewalks finished before March were dashed when contractors reshaping the shoreline said the northernmost walkway won’t be done for a month.
City officials last month told Nong Nooch it wanted the beachfront promenade from the Dusit Curve to Soi 4 opened for the Pattaya Music Festival weekend on March 4. Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai said on Feb. 16 that the sidewalk won’t be finished until the middle of next month. No reason was given for the failure to meet the deadline.
In addition, Manote said it was decided to basically disable – again – all of Beach Road’s 11 traffic lights. Six will be turned to blinking lights and the remaining five will have their 25-second “green light” to cross the road shortened.
The deputy mayor cited traffic congestion for the sacrifice of pedestrian safety. He said the change will go into effect Feb. 17.
On March 1, Pattaya will ban parking on the sand-side of Beach Road, again to improve congestion. However, the city has decided to allow 110 vehicles to park on the beach between Soi 4 and Central Road, at least until Nong Nooch’s redevelopment work moves into the area.
