“No Umbrella Wednesdays” will come to an end in Pattaya as the city gives beach chair vendors more and longer hours to operate in exchange for help in catching parking scofflaws.
Deputy Mayor Manote Nongyai chaired an Aug. 26 meeting with vendors from Pattaya and Wong Amat where 17 changes to regulations governing their operations were discussed and to which the chair renters agreed.
The major change will be an end to the Wednesday practice of removing all beach chairs and umbrellas to allow for beach cleaning and provide a “back to nature” experience once a week.
Going forward, pending approval by Pattaya’s mayor and full city council, chairs and umbrellas will be prohibited only until 10 a.m. while the beach is cleaned. They can then set up and operate the rest of the day.
The day is getting longer, too. Instead of having to close up shop at 6 p.m., vendors now will be allowed to operate until 8 p.m. daily.
Instead of the Wednesday shut down, Pattaya-area beaches will set aside three consecutive days every four months where intensive cleaning, sand-sifting, tree-trimming and landscaping work is done.
In Pattaya and Wong Amat, that quarterly event will occur the third week of the month. In Jomtien and Pratamnak Hill, it will be the second week of the month. Scheduled changes will happen if the cleaning dates fall on holidays.
In exchange for the extended hours, Pattaya wants chair operators to help them with parking problems, asking them to report beachfront businesses, vehicle-rental businesses and even other beach chair vendors parking illegally and creating traffic congestion.
Vendors agreed, but said Pattaya needs to create more parking areas, especially on weekends and holidays, for Thai tourists that are now the only source of revenue. Operators suggested Pattaya put up signs pointing motorists to lots and then allow parking on beach roads on weekends and holidays.
Manote said he would take the suggestions to the mayor and council.
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