I think you have to look at how each city is managed and run
Now 14 years in Korat, my impression that it is very badly administered did not change a bit. I don't know all other major Thai cities good enough to judge, but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that this is the worst administered of all. First of all, look at it close enough, the city is a huge open junkyard and dump.
As to public works, the local public work office must be a vermin of incompetence and/or corruption. One recent evidence? Last year they changed traffic lights at the Bangkok Hospital crossing on Mitthapap, 400 m west of The Mall. They closed the U-turn at that crossing for one or two weeks for that purpose, perhaps someone here remembers it. They added traffic lights for pedestrians, too. That sounds good in theory, but in practice it was absolutely useless because:
- The old traffic lights were still working perfectly
- The new traffic lights for vehicles didn't improve the service in anyway
- Traffic lights for pedestrians are much more needed where there are no other traffic lights already installed and working, because where traffic lights for vehicles are already there, then somehow pedestrians can profit of them too
- So if you still want to add dedicated traffic lights for pedestrians even in those crossings that already have traffic lights for vehicles, it makes sense only on condition of programming the traffic lights for pedestrians in a way that they stop the traffic in both directions at the same time, so that pedestrians can actually reach to the the other side of the road without having to stop and wait in the middle. I guess even a child can get that.
- The new traffic lights for pedestrians they installed on Mitthapap last year are 100% useless exactly because they are not programmed to stop the traffic in both directions at the same time. Pedestrians are still obliged to stop and wait for the next green light in the center of the road, without any safe median strip to step on, precisely as they used to do before those traffic lights were installed. This did not happen only at the Bangkok Hospital crossing. Last year they installed similar traffic lights for pedestrians also elsewhere on Mitthapap where regular traffic lights were already there (never where they would be really needed). for example at the PTT/HS Pavillon crossing; but always in the same useless manner. And also there, without a safe median strip to step on. Public money washed down the drain...
Meanwhile in front Lotus's central branch on Mitthapap, where everything is ready since decades to install proper traffic lights for pedestrians, where they are much more needed than at the above-mentioned crossings, where it would be easy and quick to solve the problem as even an idiot can see, hundreds of people keep risking their life everyday. And pedestrian flyovers on Mitthapap downtown remain a sorely needed rarity. What public works office can be so irresponsible? In my opinion: either an uncaring-incompetent-dumb one, or a corrupt one. Or one that merges both those precious qualities.