The Thai New Year, Songkran, commonly known as the water festival, is less than two weeks away, but many Pattaya residents and ex-pats are concerned about the number of domestic and foreign tourists, as well as long-standing traffic concerns.
Although there are numerous road building projects underway across Pattaya, Second Road and Threpprasit Road are two of the most pressing concerns. Beach Road is also under construction, however it largely impacts walkways rather than the road itself.
Pattaya Watchdog, a social media group dedicated to calling out problems and issues, has regularly raised concerns about Second Road in particular, particularly near Walking Street and Avenue Mall, claiming that the construction, which has been ongoing for several months, has become a major choke point and traffic problem.
Residents were protesting about Second Road work as early as September 2022, and it had already been going on for months earlier for other drainage improvement projects.
During the time, and notably around the Christmas holidays, city officials repeatedly stressed that the Second Road work, in particular, should be completed by the Thai New Year, especially since roadwork in this area often slowed traffic during peak season.
However, Pattaya City officials have stated that there have been troubles with contractors, and as a result, the roadwork projects have dragged on to the point that, despite improvements in many areas, huge sections of Second Road around the Avenue are still limited to one lane.
Numerous netizens on social media have urged 24-hour a day effort for the next week or two to at the very least get the road passable in time for Songkran. Some have recommended filling in the current work and simply having a dirt road extension to drive on for Songkran, then returning to work.
Regardless, Songkran is only 11 days away, and practically everyone agrees…
Hundreds of thousands of domestic and Thai tourists are expected to visit the city during the festival, particularly on Wan Lai, April 19th, and something must be done.
According to the Pattaya News, traffic was halted across the city this weekend, the first weekend of April, although Songkran is still around two weeks away.
