PHUKET: Drains were being cleared along beach road in Patong today in an effort to stave off the flooding that has troubled the west coast holiday centre because of poor development strategies.
A score of drains have been surrounded with wooden stakes as workmen remove blockages. Traffic is being narrowed to one lane and has slowed considerably.
The wooden stakes make a contrast with the metal pedestrian barriers that have been erected all over busy Patong thoroughfares to save people accidentally becoming traffic crash victims.
The recently elected Mayor, Chalermlak Kebsub, undertook during her campaign to fix the flooding that has plagued the growing city.
There's no word yet on when the ''Patong Beach'' sign at the northern end of beach road will be finished. The sign sits next to a large electronic screen with a fountain still under construction in the centre of the roundabout.
The sign is designed to advertise Patong to tourists as they arrive at the beach, just so they know.
Acting on the same principle, some resorts at one time changed mats on a daily basis outside their lifts emblazoned with the days of the week, just so guests would not confuse Monday with Tuesday etc.
However, because of the clockwise way Patong's one-way traffic system flows at present, the newly arriving guests fail to see the sign because they turn left from the main descending road into Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Road.
The new arrivals who will see the ''Patong Beach'' sign as it was meant to be seen are those people who continue on down the hill then turn right at the circle for Kalim, Kamala, Surin and other destinations to the north.
At least they will know that the beach they are not going to is called ''Patong Beach.''
Discussions are still taking place on whether the one-way system should be reversed.
Many of the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers who strongly opposed the idea may not be so vocal the next time it is raised.
A score of drains have been surrounded with wooden stakes as workmen remove blockages. Traffic is being narrowed to one lane and has slowed considerably.
The wooden stakes make a contrast with the metal pedestrian barriers that have been erected all over busy Patong thoroughfares to save people accidentally becoming traffic crash victims.
The recently elected Mayor, Chalermlak Kebsub, undertook during her campaign to fix the flooding that has plagued the growing city.
There's no word yet on when the ''Patong Beach'' sign at the northern end of beach road will be finished. The sign sits next to a large electronic screen with a fountain still under construction in the centre of the roundabout.
The sign is designed to advertise Patong to tourists as they arrive at the beach, just so they know.
Acting on the same principle, some resorts at one time changed mats on a daily basis outside their lifts emblazoned with the days of the week, just so guests would not confuse Monday with Tuesday etc.
However, because of the clockwise way Patong's one-way traffic system flows at present, the newly arriving guests fail to see the sign because they turn left from the main descending road into Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Road.
The new arrivals who will see the ''Patong Beach'' sign as it was meant to be seen are those people who continue on down the hill then turn right at the circle for Kalim, Kamala, Surin and other destinations to the north.
At least they will know that the beach they are not going to is called ''Patong Beach.''
Discussions are still taking place on whether the one-way system should be reversed.
Many of the taxi and tuk-tuk drivers who strongly opposed the idea may not be so vocal the next time it is raised.
The staves were also surrounding some totally ridiculous large tiles that have been set into the roadway. All they were achieving this morning was a hazard to traffic, at least it stopped the tuk tuks parking along there though
Posted by Mister Ree on July 14, 2014 22:56