Long-abandoned, Pattaya’s pedestrian signals still leave tourists angry, bewildered

[Rimmer]

Long-abandoned, Pattaya’s pedestrian signals still leave tourists angry, bewildered

PATTAYA:--A fresh round of complaints is making the rounds about Pattaya’s unused system of traffic lights, with new visitors to the city befuddled as to why the long-abandoned pedestrian-crossing signals don’t work.

 

A group of tourists and locals assembled at Mike Shopping Mall March 2 to protest the broken Beach Road crossing light in front of the Soi 12 retail center.

 

Pushing the button to request a red light that stops traffic doesn’t work, and hasn’t for at least a year, according to local businesspeople.

 

That crossing isn’t the only inoperable one. In fact, except for signals at major intersections, traffic lights either don’t work or are ignored throughout Pattaya – and have been for years.

 

“Can someone please tell me why the pedestrian road crossing lights on Second Road in Pattaya do not work?” asked Pattaya Mail reader Carol Foo in a recent letter to the editor. “As regular visitors to Pattaya, my husband and I have witnessed many tourists (ourselves included) and local people having great difficulty trying to cross this very busy, dangerous road.”

 

Pattaya’s network of 42 pedestrian-crossing lights are a case study in the expensive, wasteful – and some claim corrupt – projects undertaken by Pattaya’s former elected leaders from 2008-16.

 

The project officially was declared a failure in February 2011 when traffic police asked the city to turn off the lights on weekdays until a better system could be designed. It never was.

 

For a while, the lights just blinked yellow from 8 a.m. Monday to 1 p.m. Friday. Pattaya traffic police officials said operating red and green lights during the week simply created too much traffic congestion.

 

Read more: http://www.pattayamail.com/news/long-abandoned-pattayas-pedestrian-signals-still-leave-tourists-angry-bewildered-166847

 

-- © Copyright Pattaya Mail 2017-03-10

[Jingthing]

Greenhorns.

Expecting crossing lights to work. 

[NCC1701A]

Sometimes I think the Thais love the chaos.

 

It is a type of passive aggressiveness watching tourists almost get killed.

 

They have very little control over anything in government so it become a "I told you so" moment.

[Panda13]

Where would Pop history be if they had tried this in Thailand ?

[Cuchulainn]

........... Pushing the button to request a red light that stops traffic doesn’t work .........

 

Well, we ALL know that!!

[taichiplanet]

even if the lights were working, it would only confuse the tourists even more because no one would stop!

 

[vadid]

Thais treat red lights as suggestions

[Estrada]

When the lights were working at the same crossing located near where the photo was taken, no vehicles would ever stop. So instead of enforcing the law, they have  turned the lights off!

[Destiny1990]

I know a solution:ban all cars so pedestrians have more chance crossing the Pattaya roads in one piece.Make it a walking town...

[Enoon]

 

"The project officially was declared a failure in February 2011 when traffic police asked the city to turn off the lights on weekdays until a better system could be designed."

 

The system was perfectly OK, and anyone from a fully modernised country was/would be completely happy with it.

 

It was however ignored and flouted by most Thai road users. 

 

It would not have taken much education (publicity together with a regular continuity of days handing out fines at the crossings) before the message got across.

 

But "a better system"  meant one that worked automatically, one that did not require the police to take any trouble to enforce and one that did not inconvenience "superior" vehicle owners (by requiring them to show consideration and deference to pedestrians).

 

An all too familiar story in Thailand:  GET HARDWARE!  It'll be  good for your "image", everyone will see how "modern" you are, you don't have to do anything else,  just sit back and watch everything fall into place, you'll become a "hub" in no time. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2017 by Enoon

[craigt3365]

1 hour ago, taichiplanet said:

even if the lights were working, it would only confuse the tourists even more because no one would stop!

 

I've almost been hit a few times.  Some vehicles do stop.  Others, no way!   3,000B fine for running it would change things real quick.

[Briggsy]

Well done the Pattaya Mail for highlighting this issue.

[rkidlad]

Someone needs to remind these tourists that Pattaya is a world class family holiday destination. 

[PremiumLane]

2 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

Sometimes I think the Thais love the chaos.

 

It is a type of passive aggressiveness watching tourists almost get killed.

 

They have very little control over anything in government so it become a "I told you so" moment.

" A group of tourists and locals" - did you read that part? 

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, Cuchulainn said:

........... Pushing the button to request a red light that stops traffic doesn’t work .........

 

Well, we ALL know that!!

There is something in the light turning red that makes drivers see red and they hit the accelerator. Then they try to figure out how fast your walking and try to pick an open spot behind you to ram through. Be careful when crossing learn to sprint and don't drop any packages or your dead meat.  

[little mary sunshine]

Turn the crossing lights back on....post a traffic

cop at every other light writing tickets with a

fine of 1000B for every car, truck, motorbike that

doesn stop....people will be safe, the City will

 are a fortune.

[elgordo38]

31 minutes ago, rkidlad said:

Someone needs to remind these tourists that Pattaya is a world class family holiday destination. 

More like the new TV series Future World. 

[elgordo38]

No will power and no money in the kitty. I think they are experimenting with crowd funding. 

[elgordo38]

Slip a 2% repair tax on all tourists. 

[tompelli]

 Pattaya traffic police officials said operating red and green lights during the week simply created too much traffic congestion. So there is the answer, car is king pedestrians can run. In the same category as the computerised controlled traffic system in Bangkok that was switched off because 2,000 cops on motorcycles with walkie talkies can do a better job. Thailand 4.0.

[MaxLee]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Greenhorns.

Expecting crossing lights to work. 

 

Falang no understand Thainess 

[Destiny1990]

How about catapult pedestrians but with safety nets?

[mok199]

they should place one of those lazy cops on every crosswalk 24/7

[CliffH]

The traffic lights in front of the Beach Road police station were working sporadically, sometimes normally, and sometimes flashing amber, before being shut off completely about 10 days ago.  A sign went up by the crossing about a month ago, threatening pedestrians with a 1,000 baht fine for not crossing in the allocated area.  Quite what that area is is debatable, as the zebra road markings are offset from the traffic lights by several metres.  The police could make a fortune right outside the police station if they got the lights working, and fined every vehicle owner who ignored them.

[Golden Triangle]

I really don't understand either City Hall or the police, they have spent gawd knows how much money installing traffic lights at Chicken Crossroads (Soi Siam CC for those that don't know the area) Near the temple at the top end of Nern Plawb wan, and the cross roads on the way to the Million years stone park, currently none of them are switched on ?? Why ? trying to cross some of these junctions in a car you need your head on a swivel and eyes in every orifice. 

 

Chicken cross roads I can understand, they were switched off while the road was resurfaced, so now please switch them back on, the other two have never been used, what a total waste of money 

 

 

[Asiantravel]

2 hours ago, tompelli said:

 Pattaya traffic police officials said operating red and green lights during the week simply created too much traffic congestion. So there is the answer, car is king pedestrians can run. In the same category as the computerised controlled traffic system in Bangkok that was switched off because 2,000 cops on motorcycles with walkie talkies can do a better job. Thailand 4.0.

I don't believe you because they promised they would take it seriously

 

 

 

[thaiden1]

At the chicken crossroads the traffic moves much better without the lights. When the lights were working there would be huge lineups in all directions. It would take 2 or 3 light changes to get though the intersection. People would get tired of waiting and run the red making it very dangerous. With the lights off the wait time is minimal - Only 2 or 3 vehicles in each direction. Hope they don't turn them on.

[Jonmarleesco]

'Pattaya traffic police officials said operating red and green lights during the week simply created too much traffic congestion.' It probably wouldn't if they stayed awake. Better yet, do what the progressive countries do - properly utilise the computer system.

[bangkokorbust]

Turn them back on. Put one cop with a walkie talkie at the lights.. Another 2 about 100m down the road to nab the runner . Red light runners will get caught.

How hard can it be? 3 bibs is all it takes!

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

[thaiden1]

2 minutes ago, bangkokorbust said:

Turn them back on. Put one cop with a walkie talkie at the lights.. Another 2 about 100m down the road to nab the runner . Red light runners will get caught.

How hard can it be? 3 bibs is all it takes!

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk
 

Police in Thailand seem to be reluctant to enforce the traffic rules except motorbike helmets. Think of the baht they could collect just standing at one intersection and ticketing all the infractions.