Bangkok To Spend Bt15bn To Build 'Super Skywalk'

[bkkjames]

"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."

You need to read between the lines. what is missing is the following...

"It will be linked to the mass transit system, such as the BTS and MRT, so we also hope that (ORDINARY) people will be encouraged to leave their cars at home."

[iks77]

So how about installing those moving walkways a la Suwanabhum?

BWAAWK BWAAWK BWAAWK. End of the runway. BWAAWK BWAAWK BWAAWK. End of the runway.

It took me serveral flight before i understood what this voice was saying ;-)

[Nemo.]

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

Hubmania is common in asia. malaysia was going to be the hub of [insert any crazy idea here]. They were going to be the Halal food hub of the world (2 giant abbattoirs were bult and the only thing that went through them wwere mossies), IT hub, Islamic banking hub,.....

I know this was all foreign consultants talking BS.

Same consultants in Thailand then I guess!

BS Hub yes!

[Robby nz]

Wonder if any of you negative posers have ever looked at how well the elevated walkways round Victoria Monument are used.

Go have a look and that will give you some idea of how good an idea it is.

But then you would have to get out of your AC cars, so probably not.

[Oberkommando]

Anyone remember the Sukhumvit cyclepaths?

Probably the most pathetic thing I have ever seen by some margin.

Let's hope this is thought through before implementation, too many things here are engineered simply to feed corruption rather than serve a purpose.

[Thai at Heart]

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

Hubmania is common in asia. malaysia was going to be the hub of [insert any crazy idea here]. They were going to be the Halal food hub of the world (2 giant abbattoirs were bult and the only thing that went through them wwere mossies), IT hub, Islamic banking hub,.....

I know this was all foreign consultants talking BS.

Same consultants in Thailand then I guess!

BS Hub yes!

I think that there must be some unknown language in SE Asia where hub actually translates as "ill conceived plan".

As for blaming it on foreign consultants, I seem to think that when you see that Thailand is a "hub" for car manufacturing in the region, and that has foreign consultancy written all over it, I can't think that the subsequent wonky or non-existent hubs since have anything to do with foreigners.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Thai at Heart

[bangon04]

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

"uncluttered" just like the existing skywalk section between MBK and Siam Discovery....

[animatic]

Use the force Abi Wai Ka Nobody. Must have Luke Warm Skywalker.

[HKBKK]

Great idea! I hope they'll do it ASAP, at least between Siam and Phrom Phong stations.

[ginjag]

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.,

There must be hell of a lot James'''' that must have just stopped smoking :lol:

[Sunderland]

Would be nice if they invested the time and money in getting the skytrain/MRT routes started/finished more quickly. Much more useful to a whole lot more people than 50km of raised walkways, although they could be good for jogging. That said it would only take a few weeks for the vendors to move in. Not long after we'd see motorcycle taxis and fast food delivery motorcycles finding a way onto the walkways too.

This idea will eventually end up being a mass of unconnected concrete pillars, looking not too unlike the doomed Hopewell project that litters Vipavadi Rangsit Road.

[Colabamumbai]

Just what we need a 50 kilometer walk in Bangkok. As one poster suggested, just clear the vendors off the streets. Did the people of Bangkok have any say in this matter?

[neverdie]

Look, its just another 50km of walkway for the BIB to rent out to vendors. It will attract top baht too, undercover & with a view .

[neverdie]

This idea will eventually end up being a mass of unconnected concrete pillars, looking not too unlike the doomed Hopewell project that litters Vipavadi Rangsit Road.

You just don't understand, that was Bangkoks answer to 'Stonehenge' . In several hundred years from now, if Bangers is still above sea level, there will be alot of mystery around those

[andyww]

Thai people will not walk any distance unless inside a shopping mall. So, the best way would be to ban all new mall projects unless they are extremely long and thin and happen to be above the street. Problem solved.

[WarpSpeed]

The most polluted place to walk is the Skywalk under the Skytrain on Sukhumvit. The Tracks overhead Trap all the exhaust from the heavy Traffic below and it hangs like a cloud over the skywalk.

2nd Problem, is that not all access points have escalators and no elvators for handicapped... and all those stairs get to be a real pain!

Now.. If they ever Glass it in and put in some A/C with Filters.... plus proper Escalator/Elevator access... Then they would have something!

CS

Where do you ever see hanicapped people in Thailand? very few. For starters not many have wheelchairs--and if they all had them-they cannot use them outside their homes--imagine trying to navigate anywhere in a wheelchair. Our local village has handicapped people but are nearly housebound. as you say nothing for them and its bad for ablebodied persons getting around. The rich don't walk much so why should they care about pedestrians. Only this is going to fill a few pockets--as one poster said 300 million bht per kilometer. joke sure

Amazingly though the ones are out seeking alms do seem to manage getting up on the walk overs though..

[featography]

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

They will when the skywalk is finished. All the vendors will all relocate there, making room for a new generaton of lower seniority vendors to take their place on the sidewalks. Don't cha just love progress, ThaiSty!!

[Nisa]

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

They will when the skywalk is finished. All the vendors will all relocate there, making room for a new generaton of lower seniority vendors to take their place on the sidewalks. Don't cha just love progress, ThaiSty!!

I wonder if that means we will get the higher class of beggar up there too.

[ginjag]

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

They will when the skywalk is finished. All the vendors will all relocate there, making room for a new generaton of lower seniority vendors to take their place on the sidewalks. Don't cha just love progress, ThaiSty!!

I wonder if that means we will get the higher class of beggar up there too.

You mean sort of ...UP MARKET :lol:

[bangon04]

This idea will eventually end up being a mass of unconnected concrete pillars, looking not too unlike the doomed Hopewell project that litters Vipavadi Rangsit Road.

You just don't understand, that was Bangkoks answer to 'Stonehenge' . In several hundred years from now, if Bangers is still above sea level, there will be alot of mystery around those

and if it below sea level, they will contribute to the regeneration of the coral for the pleasure of scuba divers

[rheinwiese]

throw in bicycle lanes and the project gets my vote.

[davee58]

throw in bicycle lanes and the project gets my vote.

Bicycle lanes, sod that. Moving walkways are the way to go!

[whybother]

throw in bicycle lanes and the project gets my vote.

Bicycle lanes, sod that. Moving walkways are the way to go!

Imagine how fast you would get around with a bike on a moving walkway!!

[bkkjames]

throw in bicycle lanes and the project gets my vote.

Oh you didnt see the last administrations attempt to put bicycle lanes on the sidewalks?

[swillowbee]

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

There are no such thing as sidewalk in Thailand. Sidewalks are for the vendors and of course the rent goes to the corrupt police. i am sure vendors will open their stand on these sidewalks as soon as they open

On Phuket, the small space outside any shop is rented on by the shop owner, nothing to do with the police. I wouldn't've thought Bangkok any different?

There might be a few select locations in Bangkok where vendors rent the sidewalk from the store in front, but that would be a very minority of cases here.

To sell her fashion products, a young friend here rented space on a public sidewalk beneath the Asoke BTS Station. She shopped a number of locations, negotiating in each location with the local corrupt Thai policeman. When she found the place she wanted, she negotiated with and paid the local corrupt Thai policeman, who dutifully collected the "rent" from her each month. For a 2m x 2m space, she paid THB 4,000 monthly.

The site on which her space was located is now under construction and a new mall will soon open there. The mall owner will obviously have all the sidewalk vendors cleared. Knowing this, and seeing an end to their rental program, the corrupt Thai policeman pushed my young friend into "buying" the space from him for THB 50,000, or he would sell it to someone else (a pretty ill-conceived bluff). This, he said, would give her rights to sell there forever.

You can imagine the mentality and intellect of the corrupt Thai police that would attempt this inane deceit (... and, these guys are allowed to carry guns!). A street-smart cookie, far brighter than most corrupt Thai policemen (...probably up to the rank of colonel, perhaps higher), my friend did not go for the bait.

(... did I fail mention that Thai policemen are corrupt? ... as in, Third World Sub-Saharan Africa corrupt?)

Oh, and do I think the Skywalk will be free and clear of vendors, beggers, telephone booths, street stalls, even mortorcycle taxis? ... if corrupt Thai police are allowed to patrol there, not on your life ... the limits of offical Thai corruption has no boundary.

Edited February 25, 2011 by swillowbee

[bkklife]

Why would anybody want to get out of there car and walk on the skywalk and breath in all those hazardous vehicle emissions, they should spend money on actually cleaning the city, and a lick of paint won't go a miss either. Bangkok is discusting !!!

[bangon04]

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

They will when the skywalk is finished. All the vendors will all relocate there, making room for a new generaton of lower seniority vendors to take their place on the sidewalks. Don't cha just love progress, ThaiSty!!

I wonder if that means we will get the higher class of beggar up there too.

Hope that the Sukhumvit Slider gets his own lane....

[jimbeam1]

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.

Why such a hurry from Asok to Nana??

jb1

[tw25rw]

Why such a hurry from Asok to Nana??

jb1

Somewhere new for the gangs of ladyboys to loiter.

Would be handy to extend it to Ploenchit, but the freeway might obstruct it. Bit of a cruddy walk that.

A bit closer to home, I often wished they would have a walkway from Prakhanong along Sukhumvit to the market.. And another from On Nut to Soi77. I'm sure there are lots of other places that would be made so much more accessible by this.

[ES1]

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.

A new study put out by a Koch Brothers funded climate denying group says walking above smoggy streets is good for your heart, can prevent cancer, and increases libido.