Beach regulations: Pattaya considers time limits due to litter and noise surge

Escalating noise levels and litter are being reported on the popular beaches of Pattaya City. As a result, the city council is contemplating the introduction of strict timings for public access to these beaches, in line with the proposed beach regulations.

Reports include disturbances from visitors who choose to extend their beach parties into the early hours of the morning. After investigating, it has been discovered that revelling beachgoers indulge in high-volume music and alcoholic festivities, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya City Wutthisak Roemkitchakan revealed yesterday.

Even as sanitation workers arrive for their routine morning clean-up, some party-goers remain impervious, littering the beauty of these beaches with their leftovers. According to Wutthisak, the introduction of beach timings is a potential solution aimed at mitigating these current issues.

As of now, there exist no strict beach regulations dictating the operational hours of these beaches, leaving them open for public usage throughout the day. Despite attempts to increase beach patrolling, the dearth of security personnel made it an impossible task to monitor the beaches every night.

Understandably, refurbishments and enhancements have attracted a surge in visitors to these beaches, states Wutthisak. Under regular circumstances, weekday evenings witness an early retreat of beach-goers. Contrastingly, the weekends, specifically Friday to Sunday, see much larger crowds with a tendency towards late-night, often rowdy celebrations. For the time being, all that the city officials can do is appeal for cooperation from the public to vacate the beach premises.

Moreover, beachside open-air nightclubs have also been indicated in the complaints received over noise intrusions. Following these calls of distress, the Pattaya municipality joined hands with Bang Lamung district authorities to examine these entertainment establishments and request moderation in music volumes. Likewise, proposed remedial measures include the construction of soundproof enclosures for customers, as pointed out by the deputy mayor.

Further actions to limit noise pollution will be executed in cooperation with local law enforcement, promised Wutthisak.

Additionally, concerns were raised regarding resource shortages cropping up in some of Thailand’s popular islands, including Koh Samui and Koh Pha Ngan. These concerns were voiced by Pipit Rattanarak, a Member of Parliament from the United Thai Nation Party, during a recent House meeting. An urgent call was made for improvement in transport services, as well as water and electricity supply provisions owing to the increasing influx of visitors in these islands reported Bangkok Post.