A Pattaya city councilman alleged that the installation of safety-roller barriers on several Pattaya-area roads was a waste of public funds driven by vested interests, not actual benefit.
Sanit Boonmachai said the orange bumpers installed last month along the winding road leading up to the Pratamnak viewpoint – as well as three other areas – were not installed correctly, did not improve road safety and only served to enrich those involved in the project.
Pattaya city councilman Sanit Boonmachai said the orange bumpers installed last month along the winding road leading up to the Pratamnak viewpoint – as well as three other areas – were not installed correctly, and did not improve road safety.
Originally, he said, the Pattaya Engineering Department requested more than 10 million baht from the council to purchase the safety rollers for the front of the Pattaya railway station. The council rejected the request, saying the improvement to road safety wasn’t worth the expenditure.
However, the department continued to promote this project and rewrote the plan and proposed it as a new idea to the National Bureau of the Budget until it won approval.
In addition, other roller installations were approved for Soi Tho Ro 5, Pratamnak Hill and on Koh Larn, which cost the country more than 100 million baht.
He argued that if the projects actually were helpful to the areas or communities, they would be acceptable. But according to a standards inspection, the safety rollers installed do not achieve their goal nor are they as useful as claimed.
Sanit said the projects were a waste of public money and only benefitted private individuals involved with producing and installing the rollers.
Sanit claimed that safety rollers normally are installed on the sidewalk about 1.5-2 meters away from the edge of the footbath. But Pattaya installed them on the road’s surface resulting in the narrowing of traffic lanes.
They were also installed on straight sections of roads, where they are of no use, as rollers are only meant for curves. He claimed if a vehicle hit the bumpers on a straightaway, it would cause more damage, as the car would bounce back into traffic.
