Authorities in the resort city of Pattaya in Thailand announced that they will ban nighttime traffic on Walking Street.
Popular with tourists all over the world the pedestrian street in Pattaya will be completely at the disposal of “car-free” guests from 7 pm to 6 am. Cars and motor vehicles will be prohibited on Walking Street during this time, as it was in the days before the coronavirus epidemic.
The news of the street being closed to traffic comes after more and more former bars in Pattaya opened as “restaurants.” As restrictions related to Covid-19 ease, the number of people coming to entertain on the famous Walking Street has increased, causing problems as people have to bypass the flow of vehicles.
Many social media users gave mostly positive feedback after the announcement that the pedestrian street would be closed to cars during certain hours became official.
Along with several easing of entry into Thailand as of May 1, including waiving PC tests and Test&Go and Sandbox programs, a representative of the country’s coronavirus task force announced last week that another Covid-19-related restriction, an alcohol curfew, was also scheduled to change. Starting May 1, restaurants and “restaurant bars” in Thailand will be able to serve alcohol until midnight instead of 11 p.m.
Last month, an entertainment industry official in Pattaya called on authorities to move the closing time of establishments to 1:00 a.m. instead of 11:00 p.m. The official who spoke is the secretary of the Pattaya Entertainment Operators Association. Time will tell if the new midnight curfew will satisfy the entertainment and tourism sector in the once-popular tourist city.
A slight relaxation of the alcohol curfew, as well as the removal of travel restrictions, is likely to increase the number of visitors to Walking Street in Pattaya.
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