Widening Of Beach Rd Started At North End

[gmac]

Life and business goes on as it always does, doesn't make it good.

[JSixpack]

Life and business goes on as it always does, doesn't make it good.

ALL BAD!!! B-A-A-D!

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Last week I walked from the top of Beach Road to Royal Garden Plaza and must admit it's a definite improvement. Although some parts are unshaded it's only because the trees have yet to fully grow and it's certainly tidier and a more pleasant walking environment. I had no need to use the benches but their addition, which some seemed to think would never happen, is nice for those who want to sit.

It's interesting reading this thread from the beginning with all the outrage and ridiculous comments! But I guess that's what ThaiVisa is for!

What I find interesting is the attempts by a few posters--who believe they are always right--to deliberately misrepresent what other posters have said about the project. The end result is not "black and white;" rather, it is something in between those two extremes.

[Mobi]

I think I'm with JSixpack on this, and the end result has to be positive.

At the very least we need to see how it beds in and observe how it goes down with the punters.

My only concern - and always has been - is with the quality of the workmanship.

Lets see what the condition of our new promenade is in, say 2-3 years time.

I have a nasty suspicion that it might quickly fall apart.

In 99% of public infrastructure projects here, a large sum of money is skimmed off the top and the contract is carried out by third rate , cheap, shoddy contractors.

The Theppraya Road widening was a classic case in point - Countless contractors went broke and abandoned it before it was finally completed, some 10 years late!!!

At least this project has been more or less finished on time, so I hope I am wrong about the quality, but only time will tell.

[JSixpack]

Last week I walked from the top of Beach Road to Royal Garden Plaza and must admit it's a definite improvement. Although some parts are unshaded it's only because the trees have yet to fully grow and it's certainly tidier and a more pleasant walking environment. I had no need to use the benches but their addition, which some seemed to think would never happen, is nice for those who want to sit.

It's interesting reading this thread from the beginning with all the outrage and ridiculous comments! But I guess that's what ThaiVisa is for!

What I find interesting is the attempts by a few posters--who believe they are always right--to deliberately misrepresent what other posters have said about the project. The end result is not "black and white;" rather, it is something in between those two extremes.

Like this, you mean?:

There will be no shade and no place to sit.

[brewsterbudgen]

Last week I walked from the top of Beach Road to Royal Garden Plaza and must admit it's a definite improvement. Although some parts are unshaded it's only because the trees have yet to fully grow and it's certainly tidier and a more pleasant walking environment. I had no need to use the benches but their addition, which some seemed to think would never happen, is nice for those who want to sit.

It's interesting reading this thread from the beginning with all the outrage and ridiculous comments! But I guess that's what ThaiVisa is for!

What I find interesting is the attempts by a few posters--who believe they are always right--to deliberately misrepresent what other posters have said about the project. The end result is not "black and white;" rather, it is something in between those two extremes.

Do you have any examples of such misrepresentation?

I do agree that nothing is black & white - which is why so many of the gloom & doom comments made at the beginning of this thread were rather silly.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Last week I walked from the top of Beach Road to Royal Garden Plaza and must admit it's a definite improvement. Although some parts are unshaded it's only because the trees have yet to fully grow and it's certainly tidier and a more pleasant walking environment. I had no need to use the benches but their addition, which some seemed to think would never happen, is nice for those who want to sit.

It's interesting reading this thread from the beginning with all the outrage and ridiculous comments! But I guess that's what ThaiVisa is for!

What I find interesting is the attempts by a few posters--who believe they are always right--to deliberately misrepresent what other posters have said about the project. The end result is not "black and white;" rather, it is something in between those two extremes.

Do you have any examples of such misrepresentation?

I do agree that nothing is black & white - which is why so many of the gloom & doom comments made at the beginning of this thread were rather silly.

He quoted me as saying: "there will be no place to sit". Actually, I said: "...no place to sit (maybe that will change)." When that was posted it was not clear whether the city was going to create benches. It looked like they had no plans to do so. Still, I left it open whether or not they might do that in the future. He deliberately left the part about "maybe that will change" out to make his point. That is taking something out of context and misrepresenting what somebody actually said. Sorry, I do not have to time to track every post and point out all of the misrepresentations. And that will get this thread off track. As I said, I am glad the city is putting in places to sit.

[phycokiller]

its still a mystery as to weather there will be any seats between central and walking street

[JSixpack]

He quoted me as saying: "there will be no place to sit". Actually, I said: "...no place to sit (maybe that will change)."

No, not in the post I quoted above, you didn't. Here it is in full:

The "sorry state of the promenade" could have been made better without the widening of the road (e.g. power cleaning the old bricks and replacing others). The City has a track record of doing nothing to maintain the promenades they create. I have no reason to assume they will keep the new one in good shape. In addition, they are cutting down the old-growth trees to create the new promenade (a huge one went down today). There will be no shade and no place to sit. I have no idea how they are going to deal with the narrowing of the promenade from where they are working on it now to the Walking Street arch. They seem to have no idea what they are about to create in terms of a massive traffic jam where Beach Road and South Road intersect. The project is a giant waste of money, which is, of course, its purpose

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=post&section=post&do=reply_post&f=29&t=629334&qpid=6573417

Nothing there at all about "maybe it will change"--though there should have been if that's what you thought then.

I've pointed out several times that the bottleneck at South Rd. has already been there many years. It isn't an effect of the new promenade and can't be blamed on the new promenade. As Pattaya continues to grow, it'll get worse and worse, of course, unless something is finally done about it. And something might. As I always say, wait and see rather than flap gums. Not to worry: if fixed, it won't be perfectly wonderful and will leave still leave opportunity for complainin'.

Nor has the project been a giant waste of money, though I quite agree it might have been better spent. I myself already had thought of ALL the great alternative solutions long before the new promenade was even planned--and I still like mine better. But so what?

Overall, it's been pretty well received, contrary to all the prophecies.

Next.

Edited February 27, 2014 by JSixpack

[phycokiller]

Next.

yeah ok, just give me a chance to go thru the whole thread to find something to be pedantic about

[JSixpack]

The thread has widened out to "the new promenade in general." They can finish the road widening, but the promenade itself won't be quite finished. Need time to see the fate of the sandbags and possible seating..

..

Then there can be a nice summation of how right or wrong were the many prophecies throughout the thread. I might do that myself.

Those who don't like the thread now can simply buzz off and not read it.

No doubt. The promenade is not finished, and is prolly far from complete right now. They are working with some parts of the new promenade, some structures made of wood, and so far looking promising.

But if there will be no chairs, no benches, I will stick it you, over and over (not in literal sense, alltho one can wish), and make you take everything back what you have said in this thread, and that you have posted about the Beach rd widening.

Too bad, was lookin' forward. Ah, well.

Edited February 28, 2014 by JSixpack

[thaibeachlovers]

Replying to # 1208. Can't quote it as too many blocks of text.

< I saw plenty of tourists sunning themselves on the beach yesterday enjoying the heat as you were complaining about it.>

Just because some folks are dumb enough to want skin cancer, doesn't mean there shouldn't be some way of walking along the promenade without doing so.

< If you'd walked the entire length of the old promenade, you'd also have been sweating.>

That's just WRONG. I've often walked the length WITHOUT getting a sweat up as there was shade the entire distance except where the dolphin fountain was. Of course I wasn't speed walking, just enjoying the walk.

<@thaibeachlovers, on 31 Jul 2013 - 10:50, said: BTW, the previous walkway was never "better". It was rubbish.>

True, but the version prior to that was excellent.

End of the day, tourists don't visit Pattaya for the promenade, so it won't make an iota of difference to the numbers, but it used to be a resource enjoyed by the expat residents, and it seems that it's not any more.

As for traffic, as long as there are too many baht buses and the bottle neck at Walking St exists, nothing is going to change at the south end.

[JSixpack]

Just because some folks are dumb enough to want skin cancer, doesn't mean there shouldn't be some way of walking along the promenade without doing so.

Typical silly exaggeration.

< If you'd walked the entire length of the old promenade, you'd also have been sweating.>

That's just WRONG. I've often walked the length WITHOUT getting a sweat up as there was shade the entire distance except where the dolphin fountain was. Of course I wasn't speed walking, just enjoying the walk.

. . .

End of the day, tourists don't visit Pattaya for the promenade, so it won't make an iota of difference to the numbers, but it used to be a resource enjoyed by the expat residents, and it seems that it's not any more.

But that was you. People sweat differently. Maybe it was cooler that day or less humid. And maybe you were walking slower. You don't know, of course.

Now, there's shade all the way on the new promenade from the palm trees, just not as much. And there'll be more as the trees grow.

You see, there's no rule that a promenade must guarantee thick shade the entire length or else it's a DISASTER. In fact, the palm trees seem rather common and expected--see Ft. Lauderdale above. You want to walk w/ a guarantee of "no sweat," go walk in Central Beach Festival--before it falls down.

And, as noted, the new promenade is just as crowded as before if not more so.

So, it's neither here nor there. No matter what the promenade, some miserable doomsayer will find something negative about it. We can surely find somebody who didn't like the first promenade as well, though their numbers are dwindling.

. . .

Glad you've seen the light about the numbers, despite the black prophecies.

Oh, but it's still a resource to be enjoyed by expats. We have thousands more expats here than the small whingeing band of doomsayers such as yourself who claim to speak for all. Other expats have already said they like the new promenade. I saw quite a few old geezers out enjoying it the other day. If they liked it well enough, I think many expats will also.

Sweathogs may adjust their walking hours or carry an umbrella. Yet feeble, testy old ladies just aren't gonna be happy in Pattaya anyway--if it's not the promenade, it's something else. That's why there's Sarasota, Florida, USA. Move there and pay the taxes.

As for traffic, as long as there are too many baht buses and the bottle neck at Walking St exists, nothing is going to change at the south end.

Oh. Is this your fallback complaint now that

Gosh, is it possible the traffic flows better because it's LOW SEASON?

Has shown to be the usual silliness? It flowed MUCH better in the HIGH SEASON.

But that's a different issue, an issue for at least the last 15 years. But glad you finally woke up to it and do have this as your irrefutable traffic complaint now to cling to and fret over. 'Course now, Pattaya has, um, a few other traffic problems.

Would you now like to bring out your beloved "3rd Rd. planning" sneer again for the umpteenth airing, or has it been already dealt with sufficiently?

Edited March 1, 2014 by JSixpack

[Asia2000]

Beach restoration seems to have started near Pattaya Klang.

36-38 degrees C these days, not too many people out walking.

Central Festival Pattaya beach seems busy, food court doing good business any time I'm there.

Not many coconuts to be seen daytime, until sunset.

The beach is full of bottles, cans, plastic, sigarettes, and million of rats. Could need a clean up.

Sidewalk are very filthy after many festivals and food vendors, in dire need of cleaning.

And still no place to sit.

[champers]

Looks OK to me. I agree there ought to be more seating. Patience is a virtue and Geena is a punk rocker!

[threelegcowboy]

Those trees are growing fast.  They do trim them from time time.

Many complaints here about the lack of shade.  You complainers

still of the same mine set?

 

I think everything is just fine....except all maintenance seems to be lacking.

LLL

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 12:06 PM, threelegcowboy said:

Those trees are growing fast.  They do trim them from time time.

Many complaints here about the lack of shade.  You complainers

still of the same mine set?

 

I think everything is just fine....except all maintenance seems to be lacking.

LLL

Doesn't matter if there is shade now. Still nothing to sit on for the most part.

Many pavers have gone missing, not replaced.

Maintenance- don't make me laugh. It has to collapse before they fix anything, if we're lucky.

[ehs818]

There are several simple, although costly solutions to the Beach Road problems, but no one in power wants ideas or suggestions from farangs.   Want to stop beach erosion, build a breakwater wall from the Dusit south about 1km out to sea. Problem solved. Want a wider Beach Road? Bring in tons and tons of old concrete and build out from the current road into the ocean. But you're going to lose beach sand areas for tourists. Ideas come and go, but don't worry, not one will ever even be considered. My two suggestions are not my best ones, nor the best solutions over all. Why get upset and worked up about this problem. Work around it. They Thais do, and don't they seem happy?

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, ehs818 said:

There are several simple, although costly solutions to the Beach Road problems, but no one in power wants ideas or suggestions from farangs.   Want to stop beach erosion, build a breakwater wall from the Dusit south about 1km out to sea. Problem solved. Want a wider Beach Road? Bring in tons and tons of old concrete and build out from the current road into the ocean. But you're going to lose beach sand areas for tourists. Ideas come and go, but don't worry, not one will ever even be considered. My two suggestions are not my best ones, nor the best solutions over all. Why get upset and worked up about this problem. Work around it. They Thais do, and don't they seem happy?

I reckon it's the artificial reinforcement and extension of the natural headland that was done so that the Dusit could build a swimming pool on top that is the root cause of the severe beach erosion at the extreme north-end of the beach. That and the removal of the loads of natural, old-growth trees that were there long before Beach Road became paved let alone widened. The beach recovery program reported in this thread has stalled because the rate of erosion defeats any of the dredging and depositing. The previous city administration paid a lot of people good money for ultimately flawed studies and thus impractical solutions.

 

The correct term for the 'breakwater' you suggest is groynes and yes, they do serve to hold beach sand in pockets where they are otherwise subject to strong, longshore drift currents. There are no such currents in Pattaya bay since it is only about 2 miles long and relatively deep. Jomtien has a much longer, less curved arc and some areas beyond the south-end, about 2 miles north of the marina could possibly benefit from groynes. Same could apply to the north end of Bang Saray beach. But they are pretty ugly as beach defences.

Edited October 8, 2017 by NanLaew

[thaibeachlovers]

If they rilly, rilly want a beach along Pattaya Bay, they have to spend some real money and build a retaining wall as far out as they want the beach to extend parallel with Beach Rd. Then they fill it up with rubble and a couple of feet of sand on top. Permanent beach.

They would lose all the swimming areas though, but that would be no loss.

I have seen such elsewhere, I think in England.

 

Of course they'd have to also invest in proper drainage as well.

[JSixpack]

Coming soon!

 

 

Edited October 8, 2017 by JSixpack

[johng]

46 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If they rilly, rilly want a

Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want.
So, tell me what you want, what you really really want.
I wanna—, I wanna—, I wanna—, I wanna—, I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig, ah.

promenade with some chairs.
 

and later

 

If you wanna be my beach road promenade
You gotta get with my friends
(gotta get with my friends).
Make it last forever,
Friendship never ends.
If you wanna be my beach road promenade
You have got to give.
(You got to give.)
Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.

[JSixpack]

On 10/3/2017 at 2:26 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

Doesn't matter if there is shade now.

 

 

No, it matters tremendously. First there's the matter of the skin cancer to be contracted as a result of no shade. A former nurse, no less, observed the danger:

 

On 3/1/2014 at 6:02 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

Just because some folks are dumb enough to want skin cancer, doesn't mean there shouldn't be some way of walking along the promenade without doing so.

 

And if you look back through the thread you'll find a complaint, fear, or dire prediction about the shade on every other page or so, some voiced by thaibeachlovers himself. Mr. Old Growth Trees regularly hopped in for a rant. A few rational posters dared point out that palm trees are fairly normal for promenades (cf. Ft. Lauderdale) and that these would grow out and provide enough shade. Such heretics were denounced and the "no shade" orthodoxy firmly upheld. Pattaya's tourism was doomed!

 

In the end, however, "there is shade now" and more people walk on the promenade now than ever. Hence to claim that "it doesn't matter" suggests all the insistence on the importance of shade before was merely--the usual hot air for the sake of hot air. Hence, if there were seating, would THAT matter either? This is the fallback complaint:

 

Quote

Still nothing to sit on for the most part.

1

 

You mean, from Central south where all the hookers and mongers used to sit. Many don't miss them, for example,

 

On 7/8/2013 at 2:52 AM, wwex said:

I hope they dont replace the seats, the number of times I have seen a Thai lady with a baby or a thai man tell tourists to f off because its their bed doesnt deserve repeating, I for one will be happy to see them bedless

 

Nor has the lack deterred use of the promenade by the less coconut-bar oriented tourists of today. Besides, I thought you'd bought yourself a walking stick seat. Maybe haven't figured out how to use it but this proper Brit illustrates:

 

 

So fact is you really don't have that complaint now. You can sit anywhere--free. Yet now your worry is the pavers:

 

Quote

Many pavers have gone missing, not replaced.

 

 

Which is par for the course in Thailand and was true of the previous promenade as well. Looking where you're stepping is wise wherever. Sturdy hiking boots can prevent a sprained ankle. Now even they did replace the missing pavers, I fear you couldn't sit comfortably in the shade on your walking stick seat with the anguish of knowing that there is still a traffic bottleneck at Walking Street! Grrr. This was another major concern voiced in this thread. 'Course, that bottleneck has existed for a couple of decades. It wasn't worsened by the promenade redevelopment per se. Nor was fixing that bottleneck intended to be part of the promenade redevelopment. And besides the promenade strollers aren't sitting in traffic anyway. But what does THAT matter? We're upset anyway, or think we are!

 

 

 

Edited October 8, 2017 by JSixpack

[threelegcowboy]

The sky opened up last night with a flood of tears.

[threelegcowboy]

The Thai were out early this morning cleaning and

patching the beach walkway.

[threelegcowboy]

They have much repair on this one though.  All pics

down by Soi 9.

 

 

Sorry 3 pics did not update yet....

Edited October 22, 2017 by threelegcowboy

[Rimmer]

Two off topic posts have been removed, topic is about widening beach road, not stalking other members which in any case we would either see or it gets reported and we would then take action on.

[Rimmer]

1 hour ago, threelegcowboy said:

They have much repair on this one though.  All pics

down by Soi 9.

 

 

Sorry 3 pics did not update yet....

I think there is still a problem uploading pictures larger than 100kb