Having visited in November, I took a look at the Beach Road job (which was to add an extra traffic lane to the road and refurbish the walking promenade) and I'm sorry to say I don’t like what’s been done and I find some of the changes bizarre.

 

Ok I'm just a 2-week-twice-a-year sex tourist (for the moment anyway). What do I care? Well I love the place so course I care.

 

Some ‘before & after’ photos of the job (they’re not taken in exactly the same place; it’s just to generally show what it was like before, compared to now).

 

The first bizarre thing I notice is that the northern half of the seafront promenade which has a lower footfall (less people) – ie. from Central Festival shopping mall down to Naklua – is much wider and has loads of space, while the busier southern section – from Central Festival to Walking Street – has been narrowed and now feels cramped and congested.

 

 

Here is the portion north of Central Festival (ie. towards Soi 6 & Naklua) before work:

 

 

 

 

 

And this is it now. They took out the margins either side of the path to create a big wide promenade like you would find, for example, beside the sea in Spain. Ok that’s nice, perhaps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then this is the busier half of the seafront (from Central Festival to Walking Street) encompassing South Pattaya, which also had margins between the path and road, and between the path and beach:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Likewise here the margins are gone but unlike north of Central Festival the path is now much narrower. It now feels more like a pavement at the side of a busy road than a beach-front promenade:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second bizarre change is: where is all the seating? Are they trying to kill Beach Road off as a social space or what?? Thailand doesn’t have a tradition of public squares or parks where people can congregate or recreate like say Europe does, and Beach Road was one of the few public spaces in Pattaya that really worked.

 

 

All the circular seating around the trees is gone:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was always plenty of places to sit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the only place to sit really is the edge of the path beside the beach:

 

 

 

 

 

And look how narrow the path is now compared to previously. If you proposed reducing the size of public space and increasing space for traffic anywhere in the developed West now, people would be up in arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The platform halfway along at least provides some seating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If the idea of the works (in part) was to make it more difficult for the ladies to ply their trade, it hasn’t worked.

 

Beforehand, the girls could lurk on the cobbled mound betweeen the path and the beach. You only approached them if you wanted to. (And not so scary for non-monger foreign families ambling along the beach at night.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now they are much more ‘in yer face’, as they have to stand at the edge of the path:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Towards the Walking Street end, it’s so cramped that the girls are right under your nose (admittedly work was still underway here in November):

 

 

 

 

 

 

As has been pointed out in previous threads here on PA, widening Beach Road was highly questionable as the traffic is simply funneled into a pinch point at the Walking Street end. Anyway widening roads as a solution to traffic congestion is outdated, 20th century thinking. In the West, road engineers ran riot across towns and cities from WWII onwards. Facilitating the car was the No.1 priority. This made everyone miserable, killed streetlife and wrecked quality of life for urban communities. In the last decade or two, the emphasis (in Europe anyway and maybe to some extent in the US) has been on curtailing the car and making more people-oriented towns and cities. It's sad to see Thailand repeat the mistakes of the West.

 

 

 

So, all in all, not happy with what they’ve done. The old Beach Road was nicer and more tropical in character:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the update, looking forward to taking a stroll there myself soon

Thanks for pictures and update.

My pleasure:)

if they had really wanted to ease cogestion , then instead of widening the road , all they would have had to do is just enforce the no parking on beach road , tow away some cars there and the start and agressively fine people for it  , that would have eased up that extra lane that most thais use as an ALL day parking spot for their rental cars & motorbikes

really great pica and some great looking girls in bothn the before and after pics  many thanks

Damn I know this thread was about the changes and how much worse it was but really I could see were the girls and the memories of all the fun I've had walking along there now and before the changes.

 

Thanks for the photos and comprehensive review.

Great photos.  As I understand it, the whole thing is still a work in progress.  The new wooden extension around the Mike's Shopping Mall area, I think, has been added since your 'after' photos.  I also think seating will be added in time.  I do hope so anyway.

Great idea for a thread and great photos.   Thanks.

Great photos.  As I understand it, the whole thing is still a work in progress.  The new wooden extension around the Mike's Shopping Mall area, I think, has been added since your 'after' photos.  I also think seating will be added in time.  I do hope so anyway.

 

Good, hopefully it will be finished by next trip, March or April.

Great photos.  As I understand it, the whole thing is still a work in progress.  The new wooden extension around the Mike's Shopping Mall area, I think, has been added since your 'after' photos.  I also think seating will be added in time.  I do hope so anyway.

As of two weeks ago the wooden extension around the Mike supermarket area was all but finished.  As for the seating, I also hope that some is supplied soon but there is no sign of any as yet.  Now that some of the areas are smaller in width it will be difficult to fit in seating especially at the southern end of Beach road.

What i really miss is there used to be loads of places to sit before but now almost none. I used to enjoy the walk then sit for a while watching the world past by. Did they do this to stop the girls sitting round?

Thanks for the before & after shots m8...nice work!

 

I'm guessing you didn't say hello to this lovely in the white top? 5555

Great thread, thanks.

 

Now all those market tents have gone I've noticed the "boardwalk" around the Mikes shopping mall area, not a bad idea but it seems the uprights and top rail have been made very cheaply. There was a guy out staining the wood today, no doubt it will be the only time it gets any attention, I am willing to bet it will be a wreak in 12 months.

 

Thanks for the before & after shots m8...nice work!

 

I'm guessing you didn't say hello to this lovely in the white top? 5555

 

Haha, can't remember ......... but they're all pretty friendly when you go up and talk to them anyway.

 

 

What i really miss is there used to be loads of places to sit before but now almost none. I used to enjoy the walk then sit for a while watching the world past by. Did they do this to stop the girls sitting round?

 

Some say seating will be put back. However there's much less space than there used to be, so you have to conclude that part of the objective was to get rid of "undesirables".

 

 

 

 

 

great work, thanks. haven't been in pattaya since last NYE so pics keep me updated !

Thanks for the Before and After Pitures. Great work !

loved the update on the freelancers also ,tks mate

Great photos.  As I understand it, the whole thing is still a work in progress.  The new wooden extension around the Mike's Shopping Mall area, I think, has been added since your 'after' photos.  I also think seating will be added in time.  I do hope so anyway.

Those wooden terraces over the beach have been added at several places, also at the last (still unfinished) stretch before Walking Street.

As with several construction projects in Pattaya the thing is falling apart before its even finished - opposite the Amari (north Beach Rd) a  20 metre section is cordoned off as its falling into the sea - great workmanship.

Now all those market tents have gone I've noticed the "boardwalk" around the Mikes shopping mall area, not a bad idea but it seems the uprights and top rail have been made very cheaply. There was a guy out staining the wood today, no doubt it will be the only time it gets any attention, I am willing to bet it will be a wreak in 12 months.

 

I can see that wooden terrace or boardwalk in the pic below (from this site -  http://www.pattayanewsflash.com/pictures_2013/remake2.html). Looks ok in the picture anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Beach Road itself before addition of an extra traffic lane:

 

 

 

 

And after (pic courtesy of kevcov's thread as I'm not there now):

 

 

 

 

Turning Beach Road into a big road with faster traffic was dumb. As reported in recent threads, there have already been accidents. The road is now harder to cross, thus reducing interaction between both sides and undermining the whole area as a 'front drawing room' for the city.

 

The experience from the West is that when you widen roads they just fill up with traffic, and you're left a poor quality, hostile environment. You never really solve congestion and sometimes you even 'induce' traffic demand.

 

Especially with so many retirees and tourists around they should be ensuring that Beach Road is a relaxed, pedestrian-friendly zone and appropriate 'stage set' for the daily life of the city.

What Fantastic Photos really good effort and not sure how I missed this.

 

Amazing to see such a high number of Girls I know OMG yes true 555555555555 you did well to take these photos without too much attention being got.

 

BR will always be BR and even when in becomes the Family Resort the City Hall wants the FL will still hang about. Maybe not in numbers that once was but sure will be there.

 

Myself I do not mind the construction and change what does piss me off is trying to leg it over in Flip Flops. Bloody lost one last time and took me nearly 15 Mins to get the thing back after it was driven over about 1,000 times

 

Stil enjoy my jaunts down the path and still find a suitable Dirty little Minx willing to do my bidding for a moderate sum of Baht

 

Thanks for posting up a great post

 

 

Ghosty

What Fantastic Photos really good effort and not sure how I missed this.

 

Amazing to see such a high number of Girls I know OMG yes true 555555555555 you did well to take these photos without too much attention being got.

 

Cheers Ghosty:) Yeah people don't really like when you're walking around taking pictures of them in a place like Patt and I can understand that, so I try not be in anyone's face.  I sometimes see other falangs looking at me going 'Oo the fcuk is he?' like I could be investigator or something 55

 

Thais don't seem to mind so much. Though one or two FLs kicked up, but I showed them what I was taking - just general pics around the beach - and then it was ok.

 

 

 

Myself I do not mind the construction and change what does piss me off is trying to leg it over in Flip Flops. Bloody lost one last time and took me nearly 15 Mins to get the thing back after it was driven over about 1,000 times

 

Lol. Yeah the new road is a cnut to cross.

 

 

 

 

Another pic of the old, narrow road:

 

 

 

 

The now-removed kerbed margin which provided a visual and physical separation between the beach path and the road:

 

 

 

 

And the cobbled mound, also removed, which was a visually-appealing feature and good place for laying around, people watching:

 

I think I like the old beach road better... I like to walk there in afternoon and look at people =)

So is it finished as of now (20/02/2014)?

 

It was a real shitfight mid last year when I was there.

 

(Thanks for the PICS)

Edited February 20, 201412 yr by Bernie Nums Nums