These zig-zag markings are expected to be appearing all over town, but there was no word about what they are for or what drivers are supposed to do when they encounter them.
The unofficial word I have so far is they expect traffic to slow down at these zig-zag points and in some areas will also eliminate the need for speed bumps.
Some of these are on streets where drivers would be unable to speed even if they were paid to speed.
My reaction: Are they kidding?!? Have you seen how the majority of drivers go over speed bumps? They don't even attempt to slow down. If it wears out the axle, so what? And now they think these same drivers are going to slow down when they encounter these zig-zags? Right . . .
And why try to get drivers to slow down via street art? What would be the matter with huge signs, written in Thai, that say, "Hey! Slow the fuck down!!"
I'm glad Pattaya's new administration is angry about these things being done without being thoroughly thought through - and no explanation to the public of any kind, such as why they're there in the first place, who decided where to place them and on what basis, what they are supposed to accomplish, what drivers are supposed to do when they encounter them, and who actually authorized it.
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Pattaya’s street painters confuse drivers again
By Pattaya Mail
June 15, 2022
Paint-happy Pattaya street workers again are bewildering motorists, this time with confusing diagonal lines near intersections.
Pattaya street painters have had a field day since the city’s last mayor left office, painting garish crosswalks on alleys with no traffic, waffle-like patterns in intersections and, now putting diamond shapes on Soi Chaiyapruek in Jomtien Beach.
Photos posted to social media again left netizens scratching their head as to the meaning and intention of the lines near the intersection of the railway-parallel road.
A chicken vendor working near the artwork said June 11 that the lines were painted three days earlier.
Pitsinee Kullaeaksoracha, a planning and policy analyst with Pattaya’s Traffic and Transportation Office, said the zig-zagging lines are painted on raised surfaces that, while not speed bumps, are meant to cause people to slow down.
She said the pattern is used widely overseas, including in the United Kingdom, Australia and Hong Kong. The first time they were used in Thailand was 2015.
The newly elected Pattaya City Council, meeting June 9, harshly critized the traffic department for its willy-nilly street painting, done supposedly without any plan or oversight.