Bangkok: Returning sidewalks to pedestrians - 508 areas done, 175 to go by year's end

[webfact]

Bangkok: Returning sidewalks to pedestrians - 508 areas done, 175 to go by year's end

 

Picture: Daily News

 

As vendors continued protests about being turfed off the sidewalks the BMA continues to press on with their plans to return walkways to pedestrians. 

 

In the wake of protests by vendors in the Petchaburi/Withayu area came comments from "tessakit" representative Jirawat Phaengma speaking to Daily News.

 

He said that all 50 districts in Bangkok had been clearing vendors of all descriptions off the streets. Negotiations are ongoing to find alternative places where the vendors could earn a living. 

 

Picture: Daily News

 

So far 508 areas have been cleared, he said. 

 

And 175 more areas would be cleared in 19 districts by 31st December 2019. 

 

The moves have been warmly greeted by many pedestrians though others - especially tourists who want to see the old street flavor of the capital - have lamented the sanitization of Bangkok, notes Thaivisa. 

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

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[mercman24]

GO and sort out bloody SOI 4 in Bangkok then, where people have to walk in the road, because of food vendors blocking the pavement, personally i dont mind too much if the pavement is wide like in the photo, soi 4 is virtually a one way street now what with scooters and food carts lining the whole soi, many big buses use this soi to get to soi 6 with the tourists on board.

[scorecard]

Totally clear in many parts of Ramkhamhaeng Road (after numerous talks with vendors failed and then army turned up and threw their tables. clothing frames and stock onto big green trucks, and gone, no discussion. And during this period several footpath violent mafia jailed 

 

This was about 2 years ago, but recently the police / army monitoring to ensure no vendors on the footpath has gone way down.

 

In a flash most of the vendors are back and many more each day. Coming soon the large numbers of pedestrians will have to revert to walking on the actual road. 

 

Different point, I had a girl (maybe 23 or 24 yo) start an evening bachelor of business degree course, quickly all the class stayed away from her. Then I learned she has many stalls on footpaths all over bbk and on Ram. Road and her mother is a ruthless footpath rental mafia operator.

 

My students stayed away from the girl in the class because of her threats if they didn't buy things from her. A female Thai professor spoke to the girl and got severe abuse. Such nice people, no ethics, no respect, just greed and violence if needed. 

 

 

[mok199]

What about the real threat , scooter taxis on the walkway...

[legend49]

When will this become a standard in all of Thailand?

[Tracyb]

1 hour ago, legend49 said:

When will this become a standard in all of Thailand?

When pigs fly.

[Tropposurfer]

I loved soi 38 sukhumvit a total bunfight for people living in that soi for sure but the life and great food there is all but gone.

sad ????☹️????

surely there can be a way to create spaces on the street but back off the roadways for street vendors to park their carts n do their great thing!

[spidermike007]

6 hours ago, scorecard said:

Totally clear in many parts of Ramkhamhaeng Road (after numerous talks with vendors failed and then army turned up and threw their tables. clothing frames and stock onto big green trucks, and gone, no discussion. And during this period several footpath violent mafia jailed 

 

This was about 2 years ago, but recently the police / army monitoring to ensure no vendors on the footpath has gone way down.

 

In a flash most of the vendors are back and many more each day. Coming soon the large numbers of pedestrians will have to revert to walking on the actual road. 

 

Different point, I had a girl (maybe 23 or 24 yo) start an evening bachelor of business degree course, quickly all the class stayed away from her. Then I learned she has many stalls on footpaths all over bbk and on Ram. Road and her mother is a ruthless footpath rental mafia operator.

 

My students stayed away from the girl in the class because of her threats if they didn't buy things from her. A female Thai professor spoke to the girl and got severe abuse. Such nice people, no ethics, no respect, just greed and violence if needed. 

 

 

The army is infamously weak on follow up. Always have been. 

[scorecard]

5 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The army is infamously weak on follow up. Always have been. 

 

Actually it took a long concerted again and again effort to get the vendors out and with quite some punishment. e.g. one big brave fake watch venor had a long table (nearly 2 metres long and 1.5 metres wide loaded with probably a couple of thousand fake watches, he refused to move nd to stop blocking the footpath until 2 or 3 times the army arrives with a very big tray truck and perhaps 20 soldiers, they just moved in quickly, no discussion whatever, many soldiers and just picked up the big table ran it to the kerb, hoisted it up high and on the command threw the table and watches on the truck, soldiers scramble / help each other to get on the army and truck, table, watches and soldiers all quickly gone into the traffic. 

 

And the army and police did keep this region monitored regularly for maybe 2 years, but now all happening again. 

 

For a while this also caused much friction between the mafia who demand payments from footpath vendors and the vendors when it was clear the mafia were frightened of the army and cops.

 

One funny incident, the tough footpath mafia lady tried to show how big and brave she was by going into a bigger 7/11 store and demanding they pay her 'protection fees' on the spot or she she would get her gang to come and destroy the inside of the store. 7/11 manager called an emergency number and within a couple of minutes a busload of thugs arrived and beat her up and dragged her away in handcuffs. 

 

 

[sunnyboy2018]

A terrible act of vandalism and destruction of vibrant street life. Sukhumvit has been ruined by bullying beurocrats.  The BMA thugs empowered by the military are overseeing the ruination of that which made Bangkok so special. The streetlife The street markets, the pop up bars. So short sighted. So ignorant. I have stopped going to Bangkok now. All the life and joy is being strangled out of it. Its a metaphor for the crushing of Thai democracy.  In the rest of the world independent traders are helped  are given spaces, are given grants. Bangkok was famous throughout the world for its famed street food. Now its famous for military thugs with guns wandering round tourist areas intimidating both Thais and foreigners alike. In the UK councils are desperate to keep high streets alive as stores close at the rate of 15 a day so street markets  vendors  small food stalls are encouraged. But not Thailand. Enterprise and hard work are rewarded with social cleansing and people being swept of the street as though they are trash. Which is how the elite view them. Its shameful such actions are applauded by dimwit foreigners who prefer order over freedom, energy and variety.  The same kind who supported the military coup. So the Thai people dont smile so much, are less polite, not so friendly? I wonder why?

[fforest1]

Why do you think they are building mall on top of mall....Endless malls with more being built all the time......They want the street life dead dead.......The mall building insanity is not happening out of need....The malls are weapons used against street life...  

[Nyezhov]

19 hours ago, mok199 said:

What about the real threat , scooter taxis on the walkway...

And farangs on bikes. One almost ran me down the other night at the junction of Soi Nana and Sukhumvit.

 

And if I may digress, if any of you gentle readers are the dikhead miscreant skell who comitted such an outrage, I never forget a face and I know the approximate area you live then. 

 

And now they have the electric scoote thingies.

20 hours ago, mercman24 said:

GO and sort out bloody SOI 4 in Bangkok then, where people have to walk in the road, because of food vendors blocking the pavement, personally i dont mind too much if the pavement is wide like in the photo, soi 4 is virtually a one way street now what with scooters and food carts lining the whole soi, many big buses use this soi to get to soi 6 with the tourists on board.

Disgusting isnt it? That whole street needs to be sanitized.

 

14 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

I loved soi 38 sukhumvit a total bunfight for people living in that soi for sure but the life and great food there is all but gone.

sad ????☹️????

surely there can be a way to create spaces on the street but back off the roadways for street vendors to park their carts n do their great thing!

The decent food there (albiet overpriced) is now in a little food court. The condo construction closed that corner down.  And i never thought Thaiger burders were that good

 

7 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

A terrible act of vandalism and destruction of vibrant street life. Sukhumvit has been ruined by bullying beurocrats.  The BMA thugs empowered by the military are overseeing the ruination of that which made Bangkok so special. The streetlife The street markets, the pop up bars. So short sighted. So ignorant. I have stopped going to Bangkok now. All the life and joy is being strangled out of it. Its a metaphor for the crushing of Thai democracy.  In the rest of the world independent traders are helped  are given spaces, are given grants. Bangkok was famous throughout the world for its famed street food. Now its famous for military thugs with guns wandering round tourist areas intimidating both Thais and foreigners alike. In the UK councils are desperate to keep high streets alive as stores close at the rate of 15 a day so street markets  vendors  small food stalls are encouraged. But not Thailand. Enterprise and hard work are rewarded with social cleansing and people being swept of the street as though they are trash. Which is how the elite view them. Its shameful such actions are applauded by dimwit foreigners who prefer order over freedom, energy and variety.  The same kind who supported the military coup. So the Thai people dont smile so much, are less polite, not so friendly? I wonder why?

Well dude, speaking as someone with a Sukhumvit Road adress tbis year, I think your analysis is factually erroneous, histrionic, and written like you havent been to BKK in some time. If at all. 

 

Military thugs with guns indeed LOL.

 

PS I may be a dimwit, but maybe thats why 99% of the Thai folks I deal with everyday smile at me, and treat me like a king. Maybe cuz I tip 5 baht too, who knows. But Ill be sure to keep an eye out for those HiSo junta elites draggin the lumpen off the streets and putting the jackboots to the necks of the freedom loving Thai people, who are sobbing and groaning under opression.

 

PPS...the sidewalks are hellava torn up here in Pra Khanong as they are putting down new tiles. 

[madmen]

7 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

I have stopped going to Bangkok now

seriously who cares? You were just a tourist hitting Bangkok for a few days. The footpaths were cleared for the Thais and Prayuth and the army did a great job !!

[paulbrow]

Based on the other comments, I'm confident this response will be unpopular, but, frankly, I miss the vendors. I think they could have been a bit better controlled, meaning being on only one side of the sidewalk rather than both sides. But for me they were a distinct part of Thailand that are now gone. Spent a lot of money on things I didn't need but certainly enjoyed the ease to do so.

[toenail]

The people that will complain about the removal of food & clothing vendors off the sidewalks will be the tourists who aren’ here long enough to realize the frustration of walking somewhere within a time limit.  I have been to other SE countries that will block off side streets or rent out parking ramp space in the evening for food vendors to set up.- Day time food vendors are important to the local city workers and finding space for them in the day time is more of a challenge.

[spidermike007]

19 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Actually it took a long concerted again and again effort to get the vendors out and with quite some punishment. e.g. one big brave fake watch venor had a long table (nearly 2 metres long and 1.5 metres wide loaded with probably a couple of thousand fake watches, he refused to move nd to stop blocking the footpath until 2 or 3 times the army arrives with a very big tray truck and perhaps 20 soldiers, they just moved in quickly, no discussion whatever, many soldiers and just picked up the big table ran it to the kerb, hoisted it up high and on the command threw the table and watches on the truck, soldiers scramble / help each other to get on the army and truck, table, watches and soldiers all quickly gone into the traffic. 

 

And the army and police did keep this region monitored regularly for maybe 2 years, but now all happening again. 

 

For a while this also caused much friction between the mafia who demand payments from footpath vendors and the vendors when it was clear the mafia were frightened of the army and cops.

 

One funny incident, the tough footpath mafia lady tried to show how big and brave she was by going into a bigger 7/11 store and demanding they pay her 'protection fees' on the spot or she she would get her gang to come and destroy the inside of the store. 7/11 manager called an emergency number and within a couple of minutes a busload of thugs arrived and beat her up and dragged her away in handcuffs. 

 

 

 

It is always fun to see a mafia thug beaten up by the authorities. Wish I had a tape of that. Would watch it over and over again. Nice to hear about the army doing something productive for society. Amazing actually. 

[robblok]

3 hours ago, paulbrow said:

Based on the other comments, I'm confident this response will be unpopular, but, frankly, I miss the vendors. I think they could have been a bit better controlled, meaning being on only one side of the sidewalk rather than both sides. But for me they were a distinct part of Thailand that are now gone. Spent a lot of money on things I didn't need but certainly enjoyed the ease to do so.

The problem is for many its all or nothing.. they wont let themselves be controlled. They brought this upon themselves. Had they let some room open and so on things would have been different just like on beaches.

[Vacuum]

5 hours ago, madmen said:

The footpaths were cleared for the Thais

Yes, they really like to walk, but only if there's food to buy on the sidewalks.

[madmen]

2 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Yes, they really like to walk, but only if there's food to buy on the sidewalks.

food carts are still plentiful outside of 7/11s and the entrances of large buildings for lunch. They were not the problem

[overherebc]

6 hours ago, madmen said:

food carts are still plentiful outside of 7/11s and the entrances of large buildings for lunch. They were not the problem

I always believed if you buy a townhouse then your property extends to the white line in the middle of the road. ????