Bangkok To Spend Bt15bn To Build 'Super Skywalk'

[khaowong1]

It saves them fixing and keeping the street vendors off the foot paths, I suppose.

With a little tea money, they will be on the sky walk before the concrete is dry. Then the BIB will have an additional income. one above, one below.

[khaowong1]

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....

[khaowong1]

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.

No boundry Like now where else in the world I have been. Of course, I haven't been to Sub-Saharan Africa.

[Thongkorn]

You would think that it would be a better thing to spend that amount on Education for the masses.Nice for Bangkok but what about the other millions of people.

[ES1]

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

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....

Is that guy with the perpetually bleeding bandaged leg wound that never seems to heal still around?

[barryFunk]

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 !!!

Please tell me you're being deliberately ironic! Would getting people out of their cars not make the situation far better?

[ES1]

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 !!!

Please tell me you're being deliberately ironic! Would getting people out of their cars not make the situation far better?

Yes but I can guarantee you that building skywalks above congested streets will NOT do that. It just creates an easier way for pedestrians to poison themselves.

[TimTang]

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!

At 300M Baht per Km, that's what everyone should be expecting.

I wonder if this money mightn't be better spent on an integrated computer controlled traffic system, as opposed to Sergent Somchai flicking a switch.

Actually that has been tried already. They started burying cables and auto detectors in an effort to build a synchronized traffic light system. The problem was, the cables and equipment were mysteriously sabotaged at night by certain people that obviously felt their jobs were at risk because, after all, why would you need a human being pressing the big green, yellow, and red buttons when a microprocessor can do the same thing much cheaper and more efficiently.

[Nisa]

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 !!!

Please tell me you're being deliberately ironic! Would getting people out of their cars not make the situation far better?

Yes but I can guarantee you that building skywalks above congested streets will NOT do that. It just creates an easier way for pedestrians to poison themselves.

You think the air in your car is better? A car doesn't make oxygen and the air in it came from the outside through open windows, doors and vents that only filter dust (not poisons) .. not to mention a vehicle is not air tight. Numerous studies show the air quality inside a car is often worse than the outside air when it comes to things like carbon monoxide levels.

[TimTang]

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

I used to live in Calgary and the entire downtown was connected by elevated walkways; it is called the Plus-15. Some sections started as open air but eventually all links were sealed and air conditioned. In some places there are 3 and 4 floors of walkways. I used to live in an apartment that was connected and it was very convenient. I could go to work, go shopping, watch a movie, or even have a cleansing ale, all without having to put a jacket or any additional clothing even if it was 40 below with a blizzard out side.

If this project is successful perhaps it will evolve in something similar where they seal off and air condition certain runs where it is convenient or desirable. I think it's a great idea; I can't understand why there are so many posters critical of this project.

[Nisa]

I used to live in Calgary and the entire downtown was connected by elevated walkways; it is called the Plus-15. Some sections started as open air but eventually all links were sealed and air conditioned. In some places there are 3 and 4 floors of walkways. I used to live in an apartment that was connected and it was very convenient. I could go to work, go shopping, watch a movie, or even have a cleansing ale, all without having to put a jacket or any additional clothing even if it was 40 below with a blizzard out side.

If this project is successful perhaps it will evolve in something similar where they seal off and air condition certain runs where it is convenient or desirable. I think it's a great idea; I can't understand why there are so many posters critical of this project.

I'm assuming it was also heated if they had A/C otherwise it would be like installing heat and no A/C here in BKK.

[TimTang]

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 !!!

Please tell me you're being deliberately ironic! Would getting people out of their cars not make the situation far better?

You're exactly right. For every person that elects to take the mass transit system and utilize the elevated walk ways, that's one less car below belching pollutants. Those that criticize the Thais for not walking anywhere, obviously haven't used the existing elevated walkways; they are jam packed with Thais every day.

[TimTang]

I used to live in Calgary and the entire downtown was connected by elevated walkways; it is called the Plus-15. Some sections started as open air but eventually all links were sealed and air conditioned. In some places there are 3 and 4 floors of walkways. I used to live in an apartment that was connected and it was very convenient. I could go to work, go shopping, watch a movie, or even have a cleansing ale, all without having to put a jacket or any additional clothing even if it was 40 below with a blizzard out side.

If this project is successful perhaps it will evolve in something similar where they seal off and air condition certain runs where it is convenient or desirable. I think it's a great idea; I can't understand why there are so many posters critical of this project.

I'm assuming it was also heated if they had A/C otherwise it would be like installing heat and no A/C here in BKK.

Air conditioning as the word implies means conditioning the air; that can mean heating it when necessary or cooling it when necessary to maintain a constant comfortable condition.

[CosmicSurfer]

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

I used to live in Calgary and the entire downtown was connected by elevated walkways; it is called the Plus-15. Some sections started as open air but eventually all links were sealed and air conditioned. In some places there are 3 and 4 floors of walkways. I used to live in an apartment that was connected and it was very convenient. I could go to work, go shopping, watch a movie, or even have a cleansing ale, all without having to put a jacket or any additional clothing even if it was 40 below with a blizzard out side.

If this project is successful perhaps it will evolve in something similar where they seal off and air condition certain runs where it is convenient or desirable. I think it's a great idea; I can't understand why there are so many posters critical of this project.

I'm originally from Montreal where we have a similar situation.. but due to the Snow and Cold, it's an Underground "City" connection. If you Live & Work & Play in the right buildings along the Metro lines, you may get away without wearing any Winter clothes at all all season.

CS

[robint]

Brilliant , if it really happens. Existing skywalks are a great help, so much better and safer away from street garbage

Any bangkokian knows the unpleasantness of trying to walk anywhere much, its always been bad ankle breaking <deleted>, selfish vendors, motorcys, police shakedowns, massage parlours, smelly rubbish dumps and thats only soi22

but think positive, the sky train worked wonders even if tea money creamed off the budget for escalators. Taxi became metered, no more new 2 stroke motorcys allowed to be sold - look at the vast improvement in air quality

remeber what it was like before, thick yellow smog and stingy streaming eyes.

Make it so.

Jaun Dice

[bangon04]

Brilliant , if it really happens. Existing skywalks are a great help, so much better and safer away from street garbage

Any bangkokian knows the unpleasantness of trying to walk anywhere much, its always been bad ankle breaking <deleted>, selfish vendors, motorcys, police shakedowns, massage parlours, smelly rubbish dumps and thats only soi22

but think positive, the sky train worked wonders even if tea money creamed off the budget for escalators. Taxi became metered, no more new 2 stroke motorcys allowed to be sold - look at the vast improvement in air quality

remeber what it was like before, thick yellow smog and stingy streaming eyes.

Make it so.

Jaun Dice

Agreed. Think positive. As soon as the Skywalks are finished, connecting all the new Skytrain stations to all the new metro stations, and connecting to all the major department stores and entertainment venues and government offices, banks, etc, there will be no further need for Thais at street level to stand in the shade of a telegraph pole while waiting to cross the street. Because there will be hardly any sunlight reaching ground level.

[mungostjohn]

Why do people have to whine and criticize? This is a decent enough idea, helping tourists and regular folk move about short distances, giving an option to not have to negotiate crowded, stuffy streets. Anything to encourage even a tiny percentage of people to not take taxis, tuk-tuks for even a short distance is a step in the right direction.

US$10M per click is not excessive for a project like this in a major capital city.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Any improvement!!

Let's hope Chiang Mai might head in this direction.

First step may be to put in sidewalks and clear the sparse areas

that have sidewalks from restaurant tables, motorbikes, parked cars, cooking kiosks.

Chiang Mai is a pedestrian nightmare.

Pedestrian.rtf

[tomyummer]

Love the photo. As if Bangkok's weather is 25 degrees outside. Nice. Skywalk in the fresh, green, breezy, pollution-free environment that Bangkok is known for. They should first spend a bit more to add more escalators and elevators at the BTS stations for disabled or physically challenged. Maybe try a moving walkway between Siam and Chidlom stations? You can see that those yellow-tiled textured tiles for the blind really work well on the sidewalks on Sukhumvit.

BTW, what ever happened to the Bangkok Eye project?

Edited March 1, 2011 by tomyummer

[Metapod]

Its 2020 and it looks like they just started to work on this project. They are connecting asoke to Nana.

 

With that, you would be able to walk from asoke to Siam without having to leave the skywalk (I think currently you need to swipe your card to get through ploenchot of chidlom though). They should add a walk around option though.

 

Good to see progress on this but the superskywalk is still a long way off.

 

I hope they can connect it from ekkamai to national stadium at the very least.