Bangkok To Spend Bt15bn To Build 'Super Skywalk'

[usflyboy]

I am sure the 'modops' are already salivating trying to figure out how to get their motorbikes up there so they can terrorize more people.

[hbullinger]

A good idea as long as there is easy access via escalators for the benefit of older people and for those with walking disabilities and for people with young children. A lot of these walkways could be attached to the underside of the sky train structures as they are in some places already. The greatest need for the these new walkways is on Sukhumvit between Asok and Nana. Try to walk there at any time from mid afternoon and you are lucky if your walking speed wil reach more thn 2 km per hour.

[Nisa]

Note to self - sell ground floor retail store and lease out as many second story units along line as possible.

All joking aside - the skywalk between Central World and Paragon is the nicest walk in Bangkok. - smooth, lots of room, not many umbrella / phone toting hiso wannabe types walking like snails x 3 wide.

All joking aside, I agree.

I for one am happy they are doing it. Walking in BKK is one of my few real complaints about living in the city. There are many times I would much prefer to walk than take the subway or sky train 1 or 2 stops but in many cases it wouldn't feel like a walk but more of an obstacle course. In some cases the vendors take up too much of the sidewalk but in most cases I don't mind them as much as the lack of walking etiquette. As you mentioned the stopping to make calls, walking side by side even when they see people approaching but most of all if there was just an understanding of what side to walk or yield would elevate so many problems. In a country that drives on the left then people should also walk on the left when they go down a hall, up stairs or walk on the sidewalk. If just a simple walking protocol like this was in place then walking would be much more enjoyable in the city.

The pollution thing that somebody mentioned also raises a concern and I have no idea what the levels are up above compared to down on the streets but I always find up on the sky walks it seems less noticeable. Maybe those extra meters up allows for the exhaust to mix with more air.

Bottom line ... bring it on .... looking forward to more walkways in the sky.

[thaikahuna]

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

A dam_n MEN!

[ES1]

Nothing like a good walk above smog filled streets to clear ones head.

Sounds like a good opportunity for a bunch of vendors to set up selling gas masks and oxygen tanks. They will join the food carts and trinket sellers. So it will be just like being down on the street. Only harder to breathe. Great idea.

[on-on]

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

What you don't understand is that many of these foot path operators pay to have their shop on the foot path. This money gets syphoned off as either a graft or a tax to the government. All of the big suburban shopping centres have markets in the car park. All of these markets taking up the available car parking spaces pay (on average) 200b per night. So if you add all that up the shopping centre management makes a lot more money from the markets than it does from the cars being parked there.

Expect the same from these public walk ways and accept that the walkway markets will be kinda like a toll.

I dunno if this is necessarily true. The majority of BTS, MRT and BRT stations and walkways have stayed vendor free and the only exceptions are in special areas that are very spacious where vendors are in dedicated shops or off to the side in dedicated areas (Siam & others) or lined up against the walls (Bang Sue MRT) - oh yeah, then there's that platform outside of National Stadium BTS that's full of break dancers and such, but I figure that's an MBK thing. As well, the tollways have stayed free of 2-wheeled vehicles (police notwithstanding). There is a precedent for new infrastructure in Bangkok to be managed differently than existing infrastructure and it's not like I have to weave around noodle carts to make my way between Chong Nonsi BTS and Empire Tower on that walkway or between Sala Daeng BTS and Si Lom MRT on that walkway. I know it's the Tha Visa mantra to kvetch about everything, but while things could go either way, I don't see that it's cut and dried.

That said, I appreciate that you at least got past the usual TV belief that every single thing is about paying off police. As you mentioned, there's a government body dedicated to dealing with street vendors and the arrangements in different areas vary widely depending on the area - you may have to pay a property owner or the local big man or maybe no one. Sometimes nobody is paid off and it's simply "your spot" - though this is in less competitive areas, of course. Upon talking to vendors in various areas one finds that the reality doesn't necessarily match the cynical view that every single thing in Thailand is about paying money to police (though, of course, a number of things are about that .

[ES1]

the current skywalk under the bts line is great, east to walk along and gets you places, looks like they're just extending that.

Plenty of Thai's walking on it everday, it only goes for about 2km currently, but more of this would be a great improvement.

Have you people not seen the thousands of Thais in the Lumpini park at sunrise and sunset, they WALK and EXERCISE... just not in the SUN.

Hard to see these things from a barstool

Yes, I have certainly seen a lot of farangs sitting on a barstool with their beer watching the sun rise. Walking and Exercising.....ehh...not so much

[SiriusBlack1]

Looks good to me. The current skywalk has been a great success, convenient and uncluttered. No intersections to cross, so it's faster and safer than walking at street level. And it IS uncluttered with street vendors, for the reason pauln outlined above, so we can expect the same of the new skywalk.

Money well spent, except for the inevitable backhanders of course.

[whybother]

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

...and tell the motorcyclists to use the road.

One positive would be, perhaps, that you wouldn't need to jump to the side every couple minutes, as the bikes (hopefully)

couldn't get up onto the 'skywalk'...

They won't need the skywalk. There'll be more room for them on the foot paths.

[Jimjim]

50 km walkway without people selling all kinds of things in Bangkok?No cluttering?No way.

Have you ever walked on the elevated path from Chit Lom to Siam? Never seems to be a problem with vendors there except in a couple small areas.

[barryFunk]

Sounds great. I hope it happens.

The most useful places to begin would be Chidlom to On Nut, and Silom/Naradiwas between Sala Daeng and Chong Nonsi station. These are the most congested at street level.

I actually quite like street vendors. They had a bit of life to Bangkok and give it much of its character. It'd be pretty soul-less without them. At the same time, if I'm not in the market for some noodles, covers for my iPhone, or Hello Kitty t-shirts, I'd love the chance to walk the skywalk at double the pace. Getting down Silom from the West to the BTS or MRT is a nightmare most times of the day because of the foot traffic/vendors.

[Stjohnm]

The money would be better put to use toward extending the BTS & MRT to cover the whole city & not just the centre. I get chronic vertigo on those footbridges & walkways every time so try to stick to street level as much as possible anyway.

[egg]

And yet another hub for Bangkok: Super Skywalk Hub of the World

[Redux7]

Why so much pessimism?

Hope it can get done.

[bkkjames]

Why so much pessimism?

Hope it can get done.

Exactly, can hardly wait to walk for hours directly under 1000's of cars belching out their fumes right below me.

[donj]

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

Once it opens the street vendors will all migrate to use the Sky walk so the proper footpaths

should be a little clearer Its a bit like the entrances to the BTS Stations you have to fight your way into the Stations.

Mi Pen Rai This is Thailand

[Nisa]

They could probably get some added funds while also making it more convenient by charging building owners for connecting walkways to their buildings.

[starbaseone]

Interesting to see you Expats are still grumpy, with nothing better to do today. EVEN with a positive story and a good idea, you find something to gripe about. Go home if you don't like here!

Nuff said!

[alexth]

Better build some schools and send all them buggers for a proper education...IMO

[Igor]

I am not holding my breath.

Oh, but you will hold your breath as these become elevated urinals.

[bkkjames]

Interesting to see you Expats are still grumpy, with nothing better to do today. EVEN with a positive story and a good idea, you find something to gripe about. Go home if you don't like here!

Nuff said!

BRT is a good idea that nobody uses as well. Thanks for playing - i shall open mouth before thinking

[bkk_mike]

This is actually a good idea as you take your life in your hands simply crossing the road here.

I hope it ends up like Hong Kong where there are so many raised footpaths connecting buildings together above ground level that you can walk quite a distance without having to negotiate traffic. I.e. Mid-levels down the escalator and along almost to Wan Chai without having to cross a single lane of traffic at street level. (although, to be completely car free you have to use the unpaid areas in Central station).

[jfchandler]

Exactly, can hardly wait to walk for hours directly under 1000's of cars belching out their fumes right below me.

Why complain James? It'll save you having to wait until smoking the next ciggie..or ducking into some smoke filled bar...

[bkkjames]

Exactly, can hardly wait to walk for hours directly under 1000's of cars belching out their fumes right below me.

Why complain James? It'll save you having to wait until smoking the next ciggie..or ducking into some smoke filled bar...

John, if you haven't noticed by the bitchy tone of my posts over the last 4.5 days - I have quit! dam_n it.,

[Randee]

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

You walk up the end of Sathorn and see just how bloody boring Bangkok would be without them.

Better to fix the pavements and lock the selfish buggers who insist on parking their bloody bikes on the footpaths.

I'm looking forward to the 'skywalk'. Being a walker and all ...

agreed

[Cuban]

> ...clutter-free...

Elevated hub of vendors and beggars.

Is white the best color - or is this designed to filter out the cities dust and vehicle emissions?

[jfchandler]

John, if you haven't noticed by the bitchy tone of my posts over the last 4.5 days - I have quit! dam_n it.,

Welcome to the club, James.... Will wonders never cease....

[MaiDong]

Let's hope the people who created the delightful little illustration on page 1 of this thread aren't the same people who are going to design & build the skywalk, all 3 people shown are walking crab-like, as if on a London bendy-bridge style amusement ride

[bkkjames]

John, if you haven't noticed by the bitchy tone of my posts over the last 4.5 days - I have quit! dam_n it.,

Welcome to the club, James.... Will wonders never cease....

Yea - hell freezes over comes to mind. anyways, I think this new skybridge is just a ploy to get more people out of their cars and into the heat. Got success written all over it.

[Nisa]

“The system would help Bangkok residents move around more easily in crowded areas,” said the Governor. “It will be linked to the mass transit system, such as the BTS and MRT, so we also hope that people will be encouraged to leave their cars at home.”