BMA Names Three Sinking Road Locations In Bangkok

[Arkady]

I have always wondered why there are still so many Telephone Booths in Bangkok - especially since most seem to be sited in such a way as to cause as much obstruction as possible to pedestrians.

These days virtually everyone has their own Mobile 'phone so who on earth would use these Booths?

Makes far more sense to get rid of the lot.

Patrick

They leave them there so the illegal street vendors can store their tables and chairs etc. in them and also offer an on-site toilet to their customers.. Walk down Sukhumvit 23 and you can see for yourself.

They are retained for use as public urinals by taxi drivers.

[Jim walker]

Was there not loads of canals all over BKK at one time and then filled in to make way for roads and buildings, filled in with what and after that last flood some of the crap they filled them in with being washed away, conceivable perhaps.

[thaikahuna]

Have I missed the connection?, Sink holes and unauthorised telephone booths?

Connection = Both take your money and give nothing in return. :-)

[jalansanitwong]

They havent removed the useless phonebooths because they provide shelter for soi dogs during the rainy season. There are 10 booths in my small soi and only one works. The rest are junk covered in dirt and 7-11 sauce satchel stains. Dogs are happy though..

[oldsailor35]

Theerachon said there were 31,395 phone booths in Bangkok

Did they pay for some one to count them all???

Perhaps he owns them ?

[muntergok]

"Have I missed the connection?, Sink holes and unauthorised telephone booths? "

what can these people be sinking about ?

[anterian]

Bangkok is sinking, some areas are getting a head start.

[presscamera]

Oh my god I am booked into the Pathumwan Princess in July. Should I stay somewhere else? They have said that due to unforeseen circumstance that their swimming pool is closed June and July but they will bus guests who want to have a swim to the Dusit Thani. Could this have anything to do with it?

[BrianCR]

whilst they are 'fixing' the holes and removing the phone boxes could someone ask them to 'fix' the pavements please?

[MaiChai]

Reminds me of that old Carabow song: Made in Thailand...

[Nigel1500]

THIS is what happens when you let elephants jump off the overpasses.

Meanwhile, the guy bending over is thinking, "Oh man! My keeeeeys!?!"

[IsaanUSA]

Removal of the unauthorised phone booths to be completed by August 12 ..... or December 5 at the latest....??

That's like me telling my landlord I will pay the rent on the 1st of the month ... or the 25th at the very latest...

No, it's not like that at all. I suggest you read up on your Thai customs/culture. Start here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand

[Payboy]

BMA Names Three Sinking Road Locations In Bangkok

They're still there!

I thought they were paved over and the problem transferred to the country located on the other end of those holes. :

[MaxLee]

Well I rather think, that some sewer workers are digging tunnels for the upcoming flood season and are just too high above the ground to make the earth beneath soft enough, so it collapses...

... just a thought,... an action plan without proper planning, that's Thailand

[TheCure]

Well the whole <deleted> city of Bangkok is sinking anyway .

[jerrysteve]

Its a wonder no one has been injured, or killed at any time the street decided to cave in.

[animatic]

The phone booths are the excuse or window-dressing distraction.

The real culprit is the undermining of much of Bangkok by the floods,

that is now gradually showing itself. These 4 to date are likely the tip of the iceberg.

The water stayed and seeped in and moved out quickly on the surface.

But what had been absorbed took or is still taking much more time to move,

or be squeezed, in the lines of least resistance. So some areas with soil types

more malleable or looser will have shifted to accommodate the in-soil water flow,

and with the continuous weight and vibration of traffic on top what was partially liquified,

will subside in the directions the water departed, or wants to depart.

This can't get better soon, and if the new rainy season adds more absorbed water,

this will continue the turning of packed soils into semi-packed mud.

ANother unforeseen expense of letting the waters stay/move where they wished.

The Rice Pledging political profits will be a drop in the bucket compared to the

foreseeable public works disaster looming for the city.

Let's hope that the BTS Skytrain station support was dug down to bedrock,

and even removal of much of the lateral suypport will not be a risk of colapse.

But TIT, god knows what standards in REALITY were met at that phase of it's construction.

Edited May 17, 2012 by animatic

[rakman]

So far they have found three risky spots - a section of Wireless Road in front of Ayudhaya Bank; Phayathai Road in front of Pathumwan Princess Hotel; and Rama I Road near the BTS National Stadium Station's third foundation post, he said

I'm getting a sinking feeling...

[rakman]

"BMA Names Three Sinking Road Locations In Bangkok"

Larry, Moe and Curly?

Manny, Moe and Jack?

[moe666]

This story killed two birds with one stone.

[hellodolly]

This story killed two birds with one stone.

Perhaps the Government will say that they have all ready started with their project to build monkey cheeks and these three sink holes are just the start.

[noitom]

Memory of this Thaksin and the removal of the litter bins recalls that he, Thaksin, was challenged to solve the throwing of garbage on the ground around the bins and overflowing with little regard for littering.So he warned that he would remove the bins if Thais could not use them properly. They couldn't , so he removed them. It was a moment of genius by Thaksin. It did serve as a wakeup call for Thais and littering. It didn't eliminate the problem, but it definitely improved the situation.

[kimamey]

What seems odd to me is the apparant conflict between the placement of hundreds (thousands?) of dummy phone booths all around the city before the big Apec Summit meeting under the direction of the last Shinawat government in 2003, and the new concern about having phone booths all around the city later under the prsent Shinawat government. I recall how these dummy booths were stuck up here and there to make the city look prosperous while hoping no one would notice that there were no wires connecting them to any phone grid. Remember? That was the same time that the trash bins were removed from the streets because they were deemed to be ugly looking and street vendors were forbidden to work, lest foreigners feel the city wasn't modern enough.

So if empty, uselss phone booths were a good thing then, what exactly is the problem with having ones that actually work now? Was it just an image thing back then, and now it is a money thing and someone wants to get rid of the competition? Perhaps the way to address both concerns is simply to leave all the phone booths in place, but make them non-functional?

Interesting about the dummy phone booths. I didn't know that.

[Payboy]

BMA Names Three Sinking Road Locations In Bangkok

I would've named them Lek, Noi and Yai.