BEACH ROAD parking in Patong still needs clarification, the President of the Patong Beach Car Rent Association, Arnut Lowlrang, said today.

''There are still problems,'' he said. ''The signs are not very clear and the changes will not be effective until each car space is clearly painted.''

Khun Arnut said that rental operators controlled about 50 percent of the parking spaces before a new deal came into operation on December 30, increasing public parking to 74 percent.

The most contentious area remains the stretch between the Holiday Inn and Loma Park, where changes are not evident as yet.

For the new system to work, each space needed clear assignment in paint on the roadway, Khun Arnut said. ''Tourists will understand if the signs are clearly painted,'' he said.

Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha announced the new scheme on December 30, but acknowleged at the time that the changes might not happen overnight.

''Our committee will continue to make sure the new plan happens,'' he said. Tuk-tuk parking along the right-hand side of the road is expected to be reduced once the new plan for a taxi call centre is activated. No date has been set yet.

New odds-and-evens parking provisions are set to be introduced on January 15 along Prabaramee Road at Patong central's northern edge, with conversion of two lanes that run between the beach road and Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Road to one-way.

Khun Arnut, 36, said Patong had changed a lot since he grew up there.

''Before, when I came to the beach on a motorcycle with my Dad, I remember him suggesting to tourists where they should go.

''I remember a German tourist seeing me wearing a torn shirt and giving me the shirt off his back. He told us as we talked how much he liked Patong.

I haven't seen that man for 10 years, but I do remember him saying that nobody comes on holidays from one place with lots of buildings to visit another place with lots of buildings.

''I suspect he is probably now holidaying on Koh Lanta or somewhere else where it remains peaceful and beautiful.

''People here used to have big hearts, but now money has changed everything. Patong people have a problem in their minds.

''Yes, we have more money, yes, we have high technology, yes, we are more comfortable. But we have lost something along the way.

''One day, I took my daughter to school near the mosque and said to her 'How many cars will pass before they let us through to make a turn? She said: 'Dad, 20.' She knew it would be at least 15.

''Even when the motorists could see my daughter in school uniform sitting on my lap, they no longer care.

''People today show no consideration for others. It's different to when I was young. Where have those good-hearted people gone?

''We should keep the good things in life. We are losing more than we are gaining.''