Manop Chaiyapat (left) and
friend Kraisorn Poto, a motorcycle taxi rider who works around the New
Naklua market, want the mayor to seriously clear drugs off the street.
Tipyapa Kunyakum
Drugs, crime and infrastructure top the list of issues
Pattaya residents want to see resolved by whoever is elected mayor in this
month’s city elections.
Residents interviewed May 24 said either Acting Mayor
Itthiphol Kunplome or former city council candidate Udomsak Chuenkhruth need
to complete the many unfinished projects started in the past four years,
protect the image of Pattaya among international tourists and do more to
curb drug use and violence.
Itthiphol, representing the We Love Pattaya party, and
Udomsak, representing the Freedom Party, will face off in elections June 17.
Samat Thumkhanon, a vendor
selling thod-mun, expresses
his views on problems in the market.
Sakhorn Puangkhum, 43, and Manop Chaiyapat, 24, said they
want whoever is elected to take more interest in the cares of residents,
especially the drug problem.
Drugs, Sakhorn said, is fueling crime against tourists,
such as snatching of jewelry. That, she said, is destroying Pattaya’s image
among tourists. Similarly, Sakhorn added, fun-toting motorbike gangs are
becoming an increasing problem for both tourists and locals.
Motorbikes are also part of the traffic problem that
Manop sees as a major issue for the new mayor to tackle. Traffic continues
to get worse, parking spaces on Beach Road are never sufficient and, he
added, more needs to be done to increase the capacity of the city’s schools.
Somkuan Chumpakhong, 56, said she is generally happy with
how the city is running, but would like the mayor to focus on expanding the
market for retail goods.
Samat Thumkhanon, 40, however, said Itthiphol has started
too many things already and not finished enough of them. If he is re-elected
or someone new takes over, Samat said, the current unfinished projects -
such as burned-out light bulbs, damaged roofs, Bali Hai Pier improvements
and blocked storm-drainage pipes - should be finished first.
