Dear Editor;
Reading the Pattaya Mail every week it is obvious
that the issue of Pattaya’s road and transport infrastructure is a major
talking point and point of concern for tourists, expats and Thais alike.
Having lived here for the last 2 years myself I have noticed dramatic
changes with the ongoing road improvement projects.
It cannot be an easy task trying to modernize and improve
the city’s roads in a bustling, busy environment and fundamentally flawed
city layout such as Pattaya’s. But even so, surely a better job could be
done. I cannot count the number of newly laid road surfaces that are
crumbling within weeks of completion (after taking far longer than the
allotted time to complete), and the amount of major roadways simultaneously
upturned causing major traffic problems throughout the city.
Surely the majority of blame levelled in these situations
must be aimed at the local government, namely the mayor and his staff, who
are allegedly in control of the city’s improvement. Why not concentrate on
one job at a time, direct the complete necessary staff and tools needed to
complete a job to a high standard (so that ongoing repairs are not
continually needed) and on time.
Why not take into account the traffic flow of the city so
that road improvements don’t bring the city to a complete standstill, and
why not take into account such things as public holidays (which I find a
laughable excuse as to the incompletion of current jobs) disrupting work
time when planning major upheavals of the city’s busiest roads? These are
basic common sense ideas that I’m sure should be on the agenda of any
competent city planners and governmental officials.
The issue of baht buses is also a major bone of
contention. I personally refuse to ride on them, not because I have to pay
10 baht instead of 5 but because I find the poor standards of driving and
blatant excess of baht buses on the road (causing further traffic hold ups)
a complete joke. Once again the answers to this problem must lie with the
local government. They announce plans for new bus services in the city which
incites anger and fear within the baht bus community.
Why not work with the baht bus cooperative and use an
asset that already exists, bring some semblance of organization to the baht
buses by forming them into an organized bus service? Have set buses (perhaps
different colours) to run set routes, in areas such as Beach and Second
Roads, confine the buses to one lane leaving room for other traffic to keep
moving, although it would be difficult try and set up regular bus stops in
locations that don’t do too much damage to traffic flow. And then maybe
leave a certain small percentage of buses to roam freely as more of a taxi
service.
Of course all this would be useless without the proper
advertisement and signage to explain to people the system in place and the
proper training and policing of the drivers in question. Some drivers might
lose there jobs but I’m convinced a little bit of common sense and
understanding by the relevant officials could iron out an efficient and
beneficial service for all involved.
I am not trying to demean the mayor or his staff as I’m
sure the actual job is a lot more difficult than sitting here and writing a
letter, but I think I have a valid point for the mayor to consider if
Pattaya’s road infrastructure is to ever get to the level is needs to be.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Ryan