For years it has been impossible to park on most of the main streets in Patong because all the parking spaces were claimed by taxis, tuk-tuks and bike or car rental businesses, who annexed all spaces and took a very dim view of anyone else trying to park in them.
Arguments, punch-ups, scratching or paintwork or deliberately punctured tyres were the penalties members of the public could expect for daring to use space “belonging” to these land-grabbing groups.
On Monday (November 18) a meeting at Kathu Police Station in Patong heard about plans to give the roads back to the people, starting with Thaweewong Rd, Patong’s beach road.
The side of the road away from the beach – currently one lone line of tuk-tuks, will become a no-parking zone with red-and-white stripes along the sidewalk, though there will be a couple of yellow-and-white zones for dropping off or picking up passengers.
On the seafront side, parking space between the Absolute Sea Pearl Resort [Prachanukroh Rd] and Soi Bangla, traditionally occupied by rows and rows of cars, jeeps and big bikes for rent, will be divided into seven blocks, of which only 30 per cent only will be set aside for parking rental vehicles, the remaining 70 per cent being reserved for public parking.
Vehicle rental companies will have to clear all the vehicles out at 6 pm every day.
At the meeting, officials also discussed whether they should collect money for parking to reduce problems such as people leaving their cars in spaces all day and night. Governor Maitree Inthusut suggested a parking fee of B20 for three hours.
Pol Col Chiraphat Pochanaphan, Superintendent of Kathu Police, told the meeting, “The project is going ahead because ordinary people, tourists and the media have complained that black taxi drivers and motorbike operators occupy the parking lots in Patong which ordinary people have the right to use.
“The Thai Government has set a target of B2 trillion in tourism revenue by 2015, and has made the Royal Thai Police responsible for making tourists confident that they will not be taken advantage of, and that they will get assistance and convenience.”
Col Chiraphat said that besides improving Patong’s image, reducing quarrel and damage to vehicles such as keying or puncturing tyres, the project will also improve traffic flow in the crowded town.
The project to give back parking spaces to everyone is being undertaken after a concerted campaign to get the usurpers onside. This appears to have been successful, but time will tell whether it works any better in the long run than other such attempts in the past, all of which ultimately fell by the wayside.