Khaosan vendors to defy city hall's new rules

By Jintamas Saksornchai, Staff Reporter

 

Yada Pornpetrumpa, center front, leads Khaosan Road vendors in a Tuesday protest at City Hall.

 

BANGKOK — A showdown at City Hall ended Tuesday with neither the man spearheading the reorganization of Khaosan Road nor the 100 vendors who marched in protest ready to budge.

 

Unphased by the boisterous rally, Deputy Gov. Sakoltee Phattiyakul insisted that new regulations will be enforced starting tomorrow in the Khaosan area, prompting a vow of resistance from the street merchants.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2018/07/31/khaosan-vendors-to-defy-city-halls-new-rules/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2018-7-31

Khaosan Road vendors ask PM to suspend ban on footpath stalls

By Kornrawee Panyasuppakun 
The Nation

 

 

Khaosan Road vendors on Tuesday handed in a petition that asks Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-o-cha to suspend the Phra Nakhon District’s order to ban footpath stalls from the sidewalks of Khaosan Road starting August 1 after a big cleaning event in the morning.

 

Earlier the same day, the vendors submitted the petition to Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang, calling on the city’s administration to delay the order. 

 

Following a talk involving the vendors and deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul, the city’s administration remained firm on its decision to ban all stalls from sidewalks and only allow stalls and carts on roads from 6pm to midnight. It is part of a zoning plan by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to create order, regulate hygiene, build parking space for ambulances and return sidewalks to pedestrians.

 

The vendors are threatening to try and defy the ban.

 

“After the big cleaning event on August 1, we will set up stalls on footpaths as usual,” said Yada Pornpetrumpa, president of Khaosan Road Street Vendors Association. However, she said setting up stalls on the streets would likely prove impossible as “Chanasongkram traffic police will let all the cars into the streets”.

 

Not so, said Chanasongkram Police Station Superintendent Pol Colonel Chakkit Chosoongnoen. The traffic will remain the same [as usual] as during the day the street is shared by carts, tourists and automobiles.

 

He added that Chanasongkram Police Station will send two traffic police officers to patrol the street as requested by the Bangkok administration, but would not reveal how the police would act on the first day of the ban.

 

“On August 1, our traffic police will act as ordered from the BMA,” he said. 

 

Chakkit said he regretted that the BMA had not discussed the ban with the Metropolitan Police Bureau before proclaiming it and asking police to enforce it. He added that turning the street into an “official” walking street at night may violate traffic regulations.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30351162

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-7-31

4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

showdown at City Hall ended Tuesday with neither the man spearheading the reorganization of Khaosan Road nor the 100 vendors who marched in protest ready to budge.

Handcarts at dawn it is then .. T - 6 hrs and counting ..

Then remove them and have security hanging around to prevent return, just as was done in sukhumvit and Sala Daeng

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

Not surprised they are angry. Khao San Rd retail space is very very expensive and these retailers would have had to pay a very high premium to be allowed to sell there

 

I think it ia a safe assumption that some these vendors would have taken out some large (informal) loans to pay to be allowed to sell there and those who they pay to do not give refunds. But the loan will still need servicing.

 

Looks very much like a crackdown showdown is imminent get the handcarts in a circle girls good luck?

You got to feel sorry for the shop owners, their going to miss out on all that money from renting public footpaths to these unlicensed traders. Isn't that taking money from the council I think they call it FRAUD!!!!!!

The typical Thai mentality........"I own the footpath cos I have been here for years" Well. tough s**t !  Its for pedestrians !

The street stalls in that area lend the place alot of personality. What will it be without them? Just a matter of time until the Gap moves in. 

 

Let us make the place as vanilla as possible, and strip it of all of it's personality. 

The problem with sidewalks is that very often vendors occupy both sides of a sidewalk. If they occupied only one side  then there would be space for pedestrians and government action would not be necessary. 

1 hour ago, Searat7 said:

The problem with sidewalks is that very often vendors occupy both sides of a sidewalk. If they occupied only one side  then there would be space for pedestrians and government action would not be necessary. 

If you let them, they'd occupy the whole street.

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Khaosan Road vendors ask PM to suspend ban on footpath stalls

They seem to be wearing the "wrong colour" shirts for any positive response.

A troll post containing disallowed reference to the PM has been removed. 

1 hour ago, Vacuum said:

If you let them, they'd occupy the whole street.

From my experience, left alone, the simple sore becomes a festering mass, that kills the patient. The band-aid approach seems prudent, but only looks nice. A total clean-up is in order.

The sidewalks should be open to pedestrians as originally intended before being hijacked and rented out to vendors by the local mafia.