PATTAYA, Thailand – Pattaya officials say they are finally getting tough on illegal parking on sidewalks, declaring that walkways are for people, not cars or motorbikes. On paper, it sounds like long-overdue progress. On the ground, many foreign tourists and long-term visitors are asking a more basic question: does Pattaya really have sidewalks at all?
Visitors trying to walk along Beach Road or Jomtien quickly discover that sidewalks are often blocked by parked cars, delivery trucks, motorbikes, street vendors, or construction materials. In some areas, the pavement simply disappears. In others, broken concrete, missing tiles, and uneven surfaces turn a simple walk into an obstacle course. For pedestrians, especially the elderly or those with children, the danger feels constant.
Crosswalks offer little reassurance. Tourists regularly joke that using one is an extreme sport. Cars rarely slow down, motorbikes weave through traffic, and drivers appear to treat zebra crossings as decorative paint rather than a legal requirement. Many visitors say crossing the road feels less like a right and more like a gamble, with the ambulance to City Hospital seeming like the most reliable outcome.
Against this backdrop, the latest enforcement campaign has been met with heavy sarcasm. Social media comments quickly labeled it the “flavour of the day law,” predicting it will fade as soon as the cameras move on. While officials pose for photos beside ticketed vehicles, cars continue to park on sidewalks just a few streets away, including along Jomtien Beach Road, even on the same morning the crackdown was announced.
Motorbikes riding along sidewalks remain another unresolved issue. Even when cars are briefly pushed back onto the road, pedestrians are still forced to dodge bikes using the footpath as a shortcut. For many visitors, this undercuts the entire message of pedestrian safety.
Some tourists welcome any sign of enforcement, saying “finally” something is being done. But enthusiasm is cautious at best. Without consistent policing, proper maintenance, and a serious effort to make sidewalks safe, usable, and continuous, the crackdown risks becoming just another media-friendly gesture.
Until pedestrians can walk without fear of being hit, tripped, or forced into traffic, many visitors will continue to wonder whether Pattaya’s sidewalks are real infrastructure—or just an idea that appears whenever enforcement officers and reporters show up.
