Widening Of Beach Rd Started At North End

[toenail]

When one focusses on the new lane that HAD TO BE added on it looks like it has been a failure. Why? 1)the lane created the Beach Rd promenade to be more narrow than it always was (note: look at the walkway across from Royal Garden to Walking Street) 2) due to no police control, many times busses and pickups are parked along the lane to block the use of the new lane 3) every time there is a heavy rain, the small drainage system holds back the water--Beach rd turns into a river. I doubt the city officials ever, ever walk along the walkway to know the problems or the workmanship that is still unfinished.

Edited October 13, 2013 by toenail

[UncleJ]

I noticed today that a tree had fallen over near Central and workers were busy repairing the

walkway around it,

Overall I would say the re-landscaping has been a failure . At the very least they need to add seating. It was nice

seeing people play chess and talk on those tables they removed. Now there is no place to do that.

Landscaping?

De-Landscaping is what they did.

They took out all those trees / gardens and flattened the area to lease out to unsightly, polluting vendors.

The new lane is the loading zone for the vendors.

Big money in renting beach front property. They even rented the 50% open beach that was reserved for tourists.

Greed trumps the environment and tourist needs.

[JSixpack]

When one focusses on the new lane that HAD TO BE added on it looks like it has been a failure.

No, on balance looks like it'll be an improvement after it's finished. Right now, we do have a lot of grumbling and moaning from our old geezers to complement the construction noise.

Why? 1)the lane created the Beach Rd promenade to be more narrow than it always was (note: look at the walkway across from Royal Garden to Walking Street)

No big deal and well worth it for the traffic improvement from the new lane--its main purpose.

2) due to no police control, many times busses and pickups are parked along the lane to block the use of the new lane

Which now will leave two lanes open as opposed to one lane in the past. Same goes for the festival loading/unloading. Better!

3) every time there is a heavy rain, the small drainage system holds back the water--Beach rd turns into a river. I doubt the city officials ever, ever walk along the walkway to know the problems or the workmanship that is still unfinished.

Nothing new there.

Fail.

Next.

Edited October 14, 2013 by JSixpack

[davetrout]

execellent

[threelegcowboy]

All of Patters Beach Rd taken Oct 14th, 57 pics. Still have construction last 50 meters. Touchup work all along beach still in progress.

[threelegcowboy]

11-20

[threelegcowboy]

21-30

[threelegcowboy]

31-40

[threelegcowboy]

41-50

[johng]

Still no seats !!! and notice where they left an old growth tree (Picture 017.jpg ) there is someone camped out underneath it.

[threelegcowboy]

51-57

[UncleJ]

The shade trees have been reserved for the professional beach scammers I notice.

I would love to be on charge of that beach for a week.

24 hour security patrols.

Umbrellas gone. Maybe a few available for a tourist request to set up.

No jet skis and no speedboats on the beach.

No vendors bothering everybody relaxing on the beach.

Replace the stadium lighting with something more charming.

Get rid of the stinking dumpsters and have full time cleaners servicing the area.

Take the entire Beach Rd out and make it a park with lots of seating, cafés etc. and tables for picnics.

Provide electric tram service along beach and to parking areas off 3rd Rd.

Areas for vollly ball, frisbee, horseshoes etc.

Over to you.

Edited October 14, 2013 by UncleJ

[anon8]

Take the entire Beach Rd out and make it a park with lots of seating, cafés etc. and tables for picnics.

Provide electric tram service along beach and to parking areas off 3rd Rd.

If Pattaya had any kind of city planning, it would be a green area, not a highway with more lanes built. The absurd thing is, if the not so bright people of Pattaya City Hall build more car lanes to Beach Rd, the only nice part of town, soon there will be no reason for roads in Pattaya at all, cos the place becomes so boring, ugly and un liveable, who's gonna want to drive here.

Edited October 14, 2013 by valgehiir

[wwex]

looks like the road widening has failed, traffic is backed up past royal garden most nights and its not even high season yet. maybe if they remove the parking on the left from soi 13/4 onwards so its 3 lanes all the way it might work otherwise a complete waste of time and money. I predict that public cars will have to be banned from pattaya klang to walking street within a few years or that road wont work at all. on the plus side I think its a definite improvement from pattaya klang north

[anon8]

looks like the road widening has failed, traffic is backed up past royal garden most nights and its not even high season yet.

clearly we need more lanes! I say put the pavement on the sand and do away with the beach and the walkway.

[JSixpack]

Take the entire Beach Rd out and make it a park with lots of seating, cafés etc. and tables for picnics.

Provide electric tram service along beach and to parking areas off 3rd Rd.

Just nothin' like knockin' back a few Changs and, having little else to do, hittin' the ol' keyboard to pound out a few grand solutions for others to pay for, eh.

If Pattaya had any kind of city planning, it would be a green area, not a highway with more lanes built.

Right. Pattaya's millions of tourists would flock here in even greater numbers to enjoy nothing less than an amazing green area. How unique. This is what they need; this what they badly want; this is what tourists and residents have long sought in Pattaya but somehow, waylaid on Soi 6, never even knew it!

What a huge money maker for the locals it's gonna be, too, plantin' grass and then cuttin' it and all. Practically a rice field or jungle where there's tons of money to be made.

The absurd thing is, if the not so bright people of Pattaya City Hall

I'm touched by your complete innocence as to what the people at City Hall do and how ingeniously they in fact accomplish it.

build more car lanes to Beach Rd, the only nice part of town, soon there will be no reason for roads in Pattaya at all, cos the place becomes so boring, ugly and un liveable, who's gonna want to drive here.

That would mean a drastic change, wouldn't it. Pattaya's scenery now is so varied and exciting, nowhere ugly. It's always been so liveable. Never been any issues with electric power, water, flooding, and transportation, for example. That's always been the secret of its attraction.

For so many years, I've so loved that charming, scenic drive down Pattaya Klang to Beach Rd--the overarching trees, the flowers, the lovely, quaint architecture along the road. That ancient wonder known as Foodland, a marvel of traditional Thai decoration. Just occasionally, I might see a rickshaw or two sharing the road with me, but never enough of them to impede my tranquil journey.

Similarly on Beach Rd--the clear blue unpolluted sea, expansive deserted white sand beach on one side, the quaint shops and discreet bungalows on the other, dusky, inviting women wearing flowered sarongs lurking in the doorways, smiling just for you. Ah!

It pains me greatly to think that all that greatness will be destroyed by another car lane or so to Beach Rd.

But our forum harridans of doom have predicted that the new promenade will drive all the tourists away anyway. So, there should never be a need for any more development. It will become a ghost town. Pattaya, the city that was. RIP.

Edited October 14, 2013 by JSixpack

[anon8]

That would mean a drastic change, wouldn't it. Pattaya's scenery now is so varied and exciting, nowhere ugly. It's always been so liveable. Never been any issues with electric power, water, flooding, and transportation, for example. That's always been the secret of its attraction.

So just cos Pattaya is not the nicest town now, you suggest we make it even worse by destroying the only nice area in central Pattaya. How is that a good thing?

[anon8]

Right. Pattaya's millions of tourists would flock here in even greater numbers to enjoy nothing less than an amazing green area. How unique. This is what they need; this what they badly want

Of course tourists don't come here for our scenery and parks and palm trees on Beach road. But I do. You could see that, yes? Can you not understand that there is enough room for all kinds of areas and activities in Pattaya? And pls, dont forget to say 'geezer' in your reply!

Edited October 14, 2013 by valgehiir

[anon8]

But our forum harridans of doom have predicted that the new promenade will drive all the tourists away anyway. So, there should never be a need for any more development. It will become a ghost town. Pattaya, the city that was. RIP.

You are twisting things again. Tourists who come in buses most likely don't even know what town they are in, lucky if they are aware they are in Thailand. They don't care if there are grown trees on Beach rd or not, cos they have nothing to compare the new promenade to. But we do.

Nobody here is arguing 'new promenade' is good or bad for tourists. We are arguing it is definitely bad for residents who liked to walk there. It was dumb decision by city trying to improve traffic here. Traffic is still bad, Beach rd is worse than it was. Calling people geezers, harridans and other odd things is not gonna change that.

Edited October 14, 2013 by valgehiir

[thaibeachlovers]

But our forum harridans of doom have predicted that the new promenade will drive all the tourists away anyway. So, there should never be a need for any more development. It will become a ghost town. Pattaya, the city that was. RIP.

You are twisting things again. Tourists who come in buses most likely don't even know what town they are in, lucky if they are aware they are in Thailand. They don't care if there are grown trees on Beach rd or not, cos they have nothing to compare the new promenade to. But we do.

Nobody here is arguing 'new promenade' is good or bad for tourists. We are arguing it is definitely bad for residents who liked to walk there. It was dumb decision by city trying to improve traffic here. Traffic is still bad, Beach rd is worse than it was. Calling people geezers, harridans and other odd things is not gonna change that.

You are 100% correct, but as previous poster pointed out, the only thing city hall cares about is money, and how to get it, and to Hades with the residents.

The walkway towards the lighthouse taken over by speedboats, Bali Hai park gone and now the walkway ruined as a people place. There's nothing left.

Thanks for all the photos, but it leaves me wondering WHAT THE H_LL WERE THEY THINKING! Not a single bench left.

Edited October 14, 2013 by thaibeachlovers

[gk10002000]

Been in town now for three weeks. That widening is really unattractive. I don't mind the wider road, although I would prefer it just have less traffic and they rework second or third road somehow. I think the walking brick areas are much too wide. The tree butchering is really bad. There is hardly any shade during the day. The temperatures due to the sun hitting the pavement will be higher and I bet the remaining trees won't do very well. Being a zero sum game with space, the beach sand area of course is smaller. today I sat for an hour in a chair and there is no way to get away from the street noise. Before, on the Northern end there were a few stretches where it used to be relatively quiet. The place looks artificial, un-appealing. The sitting area at the bottom of Pattaya Klang, well there isn't any. Used to be more seats, and benches along the walkway. Now it is hot, sterile. Just a very Mai Suay beach front. Shame how much it has changed since 2004 when I first came here. Used to have a small town feeling. Walking down Soi 7 Soi 8, one had the feeling of being near a beach.

[balo]

41-50

Anymore pics so I can use up more of my 3G subscription ?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[threelegcowboy]

Yes those pics are a bit much but be thankful that Patters Beach does not include Jomtein Beach as well. Would be 300 pics !

The pics were taken about 3PM from my moto with my left hand. I moved along with traffic speed and shot as fast as the camera would allow. Remember dont text and drive.

Did avoid some shots of falangs etc.

So what do you think of another series of pics from the beach showing the umbrellas and walkway ? For future comparison of the erosion.

[JSixpack]

You are twisting things again. Tourists who come in buses most likely don't even know what town they are in, lucky if they are aware they are in Thailand. They don't care if there are grown trees on Beach rd or not, cos they have nothing to compare the new promenade to. But we do.

Not twisting at all. How many really moved to PTY for the beach promenade? To swim? Now a tremendous number of tourists come from Bangkok every weekend. They'll like the new promenade well enough and especially appreciate getting into Central Festival faster.

Many of "us" are tired of sitting in traffic jams on Beach Rd, sweating in the heat and wasting time and gas (the environment!!!) while you sit on your butt in the shade watching. And "we," including the Thai locals, are a lot more numerous than "you" promenade sitters.

If green space is so important, there are about a million beaches in the world where you can find that. If you want Santa Barbara (underneath, many members do, at Chang prices), move there and pay the fed, state, and local taxes. How much have you paid here so far? Probably nothing but sales tax, but, however much, there's no comparison.

I liked the old promenade and trees better too, so far. I liked the one before that even better. And those old nice thatched umbrellas on the beach--the larger beach. Yeah, I remember that. So I started off very negative about the new promenade, too.

I also have ALL the better solutions to the traffic problems.

But reality is what it is. Deal with it.

This will definitely help traffic for a time, and I do like that aspect. The promenade isn't finished, so we'll see how it turns out--no matter the predictions of doom and hot air in this thread. There may be seating; some drawings have depicted it; maybe there will be a satisfactory amount of shade.

Nobody here is arguing 'new promenade' is good or bad for tourists.

Why don't you read the thread? Here's an example:

If any one has not taken a long walk on the new promenade during the day time I will tell

you what it is like it is HOT BLOODY HOT..I will go so far as to say it is almost not

usable during daylight hours..This has to be killing business big time in the shops along

the beach during the day...The fun factor is about zero walking beach road during the day now.

Please don't even tell me the promenade is good for families now...Families will be staying

far away from this hot boring place...

Pattaya a beach resort with a 3rd rate beach,where people are afraid to swim in the water

now with a promenade like the Sahara desert..

Why even bother staying at a beach front hotel any more...

Now, you see, all the beach front hotels are soon to fall into ruin.

Traffic is still bad, Beach rd is worse than it was.

No. Traffic is definitely much better even for this time of year. I've lived in PTY more than enough years to know. Can't believe how fast I got to Soi PO the other day. Still no parking there of course.

So, why lie and pretend otherwise for the sake of whining and doomsaying? Why sit around dreaming?

I'd hardly argue it's going to be perfectly wonderful. Looks like they haven't dealt with the bottleneck at Walking St. yet--if they ever will, but they might. When things get intolerable and start digging into certain deep pockets, or a good opportunity to make some baht presents itself, there's usually something done. (Our doomsayers carefully ignore this point.) No, the something done won't be perfect either.

That is, the good news is that there will always be something to whine about!

[UncleJ]

Many seem to believe that making bigger roads will solve traffic jams. This clearly has never been the case.

More infrastructure=more jams.

The only way to reduce traffic jams is to restrict car use.

[JSixpack]

Many seem to believe that making bigger roads will solve traffic jams. This clearly has never been the case.

More infrastructure=more jams.

The only way to reduce traffic jams is to restrict car use.

Bigger roads do solve traffic jams temporarily at the least. A particular bigger road, or even mass transportation, may or may not solve a particular traffic jam more or less permanently. It just depends on the economic growth and desirability of the region. In a dynamic region, the bigger road merely attracts more traffic and hence the jams begin again. I feel this will likely be the case here in PTY too. I can agree with you, then, about this new lane--but not with your blanket know-it-all never been the case. It IS sometimes the case.

As other factors come into play, the question remains unanswerable by a comforting, simple little schoolmarm rule.

I'll enjoy the improved traffic situation as long as it lasts. Hope we get a few years out of it anyway.

Edited October 15, 2013 by JSixpack

[fforest1]

They have been working on beach road for 7 months now...All I ask is where is the damm seating

and where is the damm shade??.......

Edited October 15, 2013 by fforest1

[johng]

My guess is that they want everyone to hire a beach chair and umbrella...so there will be no seating and no shade on the promenade.

[wwex]

I noticed in Phnom Penh the seating seems to be sponsored by banks who get to have their brand logos on the seats, alot better then nothing and would enable the council to legitimately pocket the money that they no doubt budgeted for seats

[threelegcowboy]

My guess is that they want everyone to hire a beach chair and umbrella...so there will be no seating and no shade on the promenade.

Bingo !