PATTAYA, Thailand – A fresh round of “tidy-up” operations targeting illegal parking on sidewalks along Jomtien Second Road drew praise on social media this week — but also deep skepticism.
City officials from the Jomtien municipal enforcement division (thesakij) responded to public complaints by organizing a site visit and asking business operators to remove vehicles parked on pedestrian walkways. But many residents say the cycle of warnings without real penalties has gone on for too long.
“The problem keeps coming back. They were here yesterday, and the next day cars were parked there again,” one commenter wrote under a post by the city’s official Facebook page “Pattaya Mayor’s Direct Line”
The crackdown came after a wave of complaints about sidewalks being turned into personal parking lots. One particularly egregious case involved multiple vehicles blocking pedestrian paths on Jomtien Second Road, creating safety hazards for walkers. But the issue, locals say, isn’t isolated — and won’t go away with verbal orders alone.
While some praised the effort — “Great job, keep it up!” and “We support this for pedestrian safety” — others demanded actual consequences: “Use fines, please. Don’t just warn them, or officials will have to do this over and over again.”
One of the most pressing complaints was about baht-buses near Walking Street:
“Please do something about the songthaews parking along the left lane all the way to the red light. When cars stop at the light, these guys honk and act like they own the road.”
Locals are calling for real deterrents: stricter ticketing, vehicle removal, and even naming repeat offenders. As one person bluntly put it: “Pattaya will never change if you keep issuing only warnings. People just laugh and park there again.”
