After being shamed on social media for failing to enforce parking rules in Dongtan Beach, Pattaya municipal police vowed to clear out scofflaws starting April 5.
Municipal police chief Pol. Maj. Jirawat Sukontasap called Jomtien-based officers in on the carpet April 3, demanding to know why online photos showed the new Dongtan Beach promenade full of cars and motorbikes between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. when signs on barriers clearly said they shouldn’t be there.
Jirawat said the officers told him that all the vehicles belonged to beach vendors who had come in before the gates closed at 10 a.m. However, they didn’t move their vehicles as they should have, due to a shortage of parking in the area.
The officers, instead of upholding the letter of law, tried to “compromise” with the vendors, which translated to the vendors doing whatever they wanted.
The police chief said starting April 5 there would be “no mercy” and all cars and bikes, no matter their owner, would be evicted after 10 a.m.
The problem is, he explained, that the Dongtan redevelopment project reduced the amount of available parking. While the city provides a free public lot at the end of the beach, it quickly fills up with tourists.
Vendors claimed they were being considerate by not parking in the more-distant lot, taking the closer, but prohibited spots, to avoid depriving tourists of parking.
Jirawat wasn’t having it, directing vendors to park in adjacent areas outside the fences until the city’s Engineering Department, which is responsible for the Dongtan redevelopment, comes up with a parking solution for beach vendors.
