Back to back signals - one near Walking Street
and one just a few dozen meters away.
Pratchaya Kerdthong
Traffic police have asked the city to turn off Pattaya’s
42 pedestrian-crossing signals on weekends until a better system can be
designed.
Until further notice, the lights will now blink yellow
from 1 p.m. Friday to 8 a.m. Monday. Pattaya traffic police officials said
operating red and green lights during the weekend simply created too much
traffic congestion.
Launched Nov. 1, the much-ballyhooed crossing lights were
billed as a way to improve safety for tourists and bring order to Pattaya’s
crazy streets. Almost immediately, however, the signals - some separated by
as few as 50 meters - were ridiculed and all but ignored by drivers who
simply blew through red lights.
The city tried to salvage the program by posting banners,
sending informational sound trucks into the streets and having police
monitor selected crossings. Traffic inspector Maj. Thanapong Phothi said the
educational efforts partially worked, as more drivers are now actually
stopping to let pedestrians cross. But the gains, he said, could not offset
the traffic congestion created.
Because there are so many lights so close together,
traffic gets backed up all the way to Sukhumvit Road, Thanapong said.
Therefore Pattaya Police requested the city simply have the signals blink a
cautionary yellow on weekends and permanently at key choke points in front
of Pattaya City Hall and on South Road next to Chaimongkol Temple and
Pattaya School No. 8.
Police officials want the city to redesign its system,
moving or even removing some lights to allow traffic to flow better while
keeping pedestrians safe. Thanapong noted that police don’t lack control
over system design and signal placement, but cannot even turn specific
lights on or off. Yet at the same time, he said, the city wants police to
enforce traffic laws at the 42 crossings.
The Pattaya Police Station simply doesn’t have the
resources, he said.
So, for now, it’s back to playing chicken with speeding
cars for tourists and back to the drawing board for the city.
