Bangkok's 'Super Skywalk' Project Halted

[webfact]

BMA

Skywalk halted

By The Nation

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has cancelled the Bt10-billion second phase of the "super skywalk" project, which was meant to cover 32 kilometres and be completed by 2014, because of a lack of clarity of the first phase, a senior official said yesterday.

This is in response to the Office of the Auditor-General writing to the BMA governor for the third time, seeking a review of the project because of a lack of transparency, especially in terms of public opinion on the first 16km phase.

BMA Deputy Governor Theerachon Manomaipibul said that since clarity was needed about the "super skywalk" over three routes - Soi Nana to Soi Bearing; National Stadium to Victory Monument; and Ramkhamhaeng - the city would follow the Office of the Auditor-General's instructions and conduct more opinion surveys.

Saying that Bangkok residents would lose out if the first phase did not materialise, he added that its construction was originally budgeted at Bt5.2 billion, but the cost was brought down to Bt3 billion.

-- The Nation 2011-08-11

[tominbkk]

Would've been cool to have it, better than tripping over people and potholes every two feet on the sidewalk below....

[whybother]

Soi Nana to Soi Bearing

I think a skywalk in the busy areas is a great idea, but all the way to Suk soi 107? There would be no one using 80% of it.

Chitlom to Phrom Phong would be good, and maybe down to Thong Lor or Ekkamai, but after that it would hardly ever be used.

[bkkjames]

No money to be made from this-would only hurt vendors below (bite the hands that feed you)

[scorecard]

Would've been cool to have it, better than tripping over people and potholes every two feet on the sidewalk below....

Well that's true, but it's time to stop putting band-aids over things. Billions of Baht so that people don't have to walk on the footpath, is that lacking in logic?

What would be more appropriate is building market areas, simple construction, where street traders can operate and all properly regulated (marked positions, proper audits showing that fees in the BMA bank book match the number of booth areas etc.) and spend big budget money on much higher priorities, e.g. rapid mass transit systems, both underground and more skytrains, and with some of the budget being used to subsidize fares so that 90% or Bkk based people can afford to use rapid mass transport for every trip. And more of the same in the big provincial cities.

[DP25]

No money to be made from this-would only hurt vendors below (bite the hands that feed you)

They could put their own shops in it like they do at BTS stations already

[ozsamurai]

Skywalk between BTS Stations? So you walk for 2-3 blocks then have to pay to go through the station, platform pass is still 15bht I think. What's the point of that?

Oz

[Soutpeel]

They could of course take the THB 10 billion and fix the existing pavements and existing infastructure...or is this to simple a solution ?....

[Bagwan]

So, the skywalk will not get off the ground?

[jfchandler]

I don't understand the OP article here...

What does all this mean about what they're going to do with the so-called first phase.... Is it going to proceed?

And are the three segments they mention in the OP segments that are being canceled as part of the second phase, or they're going to proceed as part of the first phase...

I need another cup of coffee for the morning... Yikes!!!

[jfchandler]

Skywalk between BTS Stations? So you walk for 2-3 blocks then have to pay to go through the station, platform pass is still 15bht I think. What's the point of that?

Oz

That was one of the apparent flaws in the original concept. The current BTS stations have no existing ability for walk-throughs... The only way to walk through is to pay a 15 baht fare to go in one gate and out on the other side...

And I never heard anything about how, if at all, BTS figured to address that.... It would kind of defeat their whole ticketing setup, given the way the stations are now configured, if people could just walk in and out through the gates.

Unless somehow someone had some kind of SkyWalk design idea that would bypass the existing Skytrain station gates but still allow pedestrian through access... I'm not sure how they could design that, though. Like going up and down the stairs/escalators every time you pass a station???

[thaikahuna]

Would've been cool to have it, better than tripping over people and potholes every two feet on the sidewalk below....

And if you think that there would be no vendors up there you would be sadly mistaken. As for potholes, give them time...

[kumsamut]

Would've been cool to have it, better than tripping over people and potholes every two feet on the sidewalk below....

I prefer sky train or something more productive and worth having it. elevated highway can be more useful.

[Axpat]

Even better a 50KMH travellator. I wouldnt need to dry my hair before leaving the house every morning.

[tingtongfarang]

Would've been cool to have it, better than tripping over people and potholes every two feet on the sidewalk below....

And if you think that there would be no vendors up there you would be sadly mistaken. As for potholes, give them time...

And police extorting money from vendors who would open a stall on the walkway, Same as the sidewalk in no time.

[maidu]

Whether it's 930,000 or 1.65 million baht per meter (original estimate), isn't it a bit steep for a walkway? Is made with platinum supports and gold bar treads?

I'm negotiating with a local Pu Yai Ban to see about constructing a 2.5 Km nature trail in northern Thailand, and the estimated cost is Bt.200 per meter. For that price, over 8 Km of pathways could be built for the price of 1 meter of Bkk's Skywalk. The difference with Bkk's is; my nature trail wouldn't have city fumes, nor gridlock on all sides, nor views of only buildings, cement and black wires hanging everywhere. Instead, it would have views of a big river, soaring limestone cliffs, thousands of trees and grassy alcoves.

[Satcommlee]

Why is everyone referring to Pavements or Sidewalks... the technical term in Thailand is "Elevated Trading Platform"

[Macmundi]

The whole thing s a scam. 3 billion is still too expensive. Just spend one billion to fix the existing 'footpaths' (not vendor paths- I mean, kick them off the streets!). Make it ergonomically right and safe. Build lots to accommodate the vendors if they still insist they need to sell under the skies.

[bkkjames]

wishful thinking about getting rid of the cash cows-i mean street vendors. Just last week I notice the tax collectors-i mean tourist cops? painting more little marks on the sidewalk on silom near bangkok christian hospital (the only 100 meters currently vendor free) to rent out to yet more t-shirt, dvd, fried banana sellers.

Having looked at lower suk and silom for many years I have come to conclusion that open spaces are wasted opportunities in the minds of the entrepreneurial locals.

4sqm of free walking space on a sidewalk will just attract beggers, motorbikes and mobile fruit vendors-a tough crowd to pin down.

[Payboy]

originally budgeted at Bt5.2 billion, but the cost was brought down to Bt3 billion

No wonder it's back in cold storage.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As for the sidewalks, over the past two years or so, the city folks must have spent a ton of dough re-doing the tiled sidewalk sections on large portions of Sukhumvit Road, at least from about Ploenchit out to Emporium or so....

Now less than a year after they finished, the new tiles are already starting to become a mess in lot of areas.... When they did the new installs, from what I can see... they laid down a new sandy-type base and then just set in the loose tiles in over it...

With the ever-present rains and the building downspouts that drip/pour directly down onto the sidewalks, the base underneath the tiles is already shifting and giving way, causing the tiles to shift and buckle.... Well, they got almost a year out of it... perhaps....

[rametindallas]

The legitimate businesses along the way, who pay taxes, will see their customers bypass their shops. Better to spend the money to fix the walkways so customers can walk without hitting their head, or stepping in a hole and they should be wheelchair accessable and not blocked by phone booth, vendors, taximoto, etc.. The purpose of a city is commerce and the city should invest in things that promote business so everyone can work, eat, and pay taxes; you can't transact business when your customers are bypassing you on an elevated skywalk. And once it is complete if will be half full of beggars and vendors and will take more policemen to police it and it won't bring any taxmoney into the city's coffers. I think the Bangkok Governor wants his name on something.

[jeanelie]

The skywalk is wonderfull, extend it!