A wheelchair-accessible pedestrian bridge took seven years to build and, in classic Pattaya fashion, wasn’t maintained after opening. So, it’s no wonder that three years later, the elevators no longer work.
It’s a pattern that has been repeated time after time for more than a decade in Pattaya. Hundreds of millions are spent on flashy infrastructure projects such as CCTV camera networks, dancing fountains and accessible bridges, with no money allocated to keep them working after the press release has gone out.
The Redemptorist Center for Persons with Disabilities, which has battled city hall recently over its ill-maintained wheelchair lane on Soi Paniadchang, wasn’t about to let the elevators on the bridge over Sukhumvit remain broken. The charity had pushed for seven years for their installation.
So, bowing to the influential group’s pressure, Mayor Poramet Ngampichet oversaw the repair of the glass elevators that had shorted out and rusted due to leaks in the pedestrian bridge’s roof and flooding at its base.
The bridge over the Central Road bypass tunnel, which was constructed in less time than the overpass, opened in 2019. It is equipped with glass elevators on both ends with keypads with large buttons and braille for those with physical or visual impairments. There also are buttons to call for help.
Poramet said repairs now are done and he ordered the Engineering Department to study flaws in the overpass’ design that allowed water to get into the elevator shafts and electric to prevent further breakdowns.
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