PATTAYA, Thailand – Despite yet another round of official warnings, sidewalks and public roads across Pattaya continue to be informally “claimed” by local businesses. Cones, chairs, food carts, and parked motorcycles are still blocking access to public walkways — often just meters from signs declaring such use illegal.
This week, Pattaya authorities issued renewed notices reminding shopfronts, restaurants, and hotels that placing obstructions on public roads or pavements is against the law. Offenders, officials warned, will be fined — not for placing the items, but for reclaiming them from city custody.
But to many residents, these announcements are nothing new. “Ah yes, just like when they made bold declarations about cracking down on motorcycle rental companies hogging public roads,” scoffed a long-term European expat. “We all saw how spectacularly effective that was.”
Online, the skepticism was even sharper. “One day only. Then it all goes back to the same,” read one widely liked social media post. Another added, “Repeat every week… Thailand will forever warn people, but there’s no backbone to actually enforce the law.”
Critics argue that Pattaya’s enforcement campaigns are largely performative – photo ops and press releases with no sustained follow-up. The absence of regular inspections or meaningful consequences leaves many wondering whether authorities are truly serious. “How are you going to prevent it for good like this?” asked one local resident. “Fine for putting it there? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”
Others pointed to the surreal way space is controlled in the city. “They just have people outside saying ‘can’t park there.’ Happens a lot in Pattaya,” said one Thai commenter, referring to hotel or shop employees who act as unofficial traffic police. Some even questioned whether the campaigns were real at all. “Do you actually make these posts up?” asked one commenter under the city’s own announcement. “Just wondering. Follow-up photos would be nice.”
And therein lies the core issue: Without public evidence or repeat inspections, the public sees little reason to believe things will change. “Do officials even come back the next day?” one frustrated resident asked. “That’s the only thing that would make a difference.” Until that happens, many believe the battle for Pattaya’s sidewalks is already lost – not to tourists or traffic, but to unchecked private interest.
