Chiang mai to seek at least bt23 million from tourism ministry for bike lanes

[Lite Beer]

Chiang mai to seek at least bt23 million from tourism ministry for bike lanes

CHIANG MAI: -- The Chiang Mai provincial administration will seek a budget of at least Bt23 million from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to launch its project to turn the northern city in a bike-touring city, Chiang Mai chief tourism and sports officer Montree Piyakul said Sunday.

The budget will be for building of bike lanes in the city and communities, bike lines to tourist destinations and other exclusive bike lines, he said.

The bike lane constructions would be carried out under the government's plan to build bike lanes around the country to promote tourism, Piyakul said. He said the budget would come from the Physical Education Department under the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Chiang-mai-to-seek-at-least-bt23-million-from-tour-30247343.html

-- The Nation 2014-11-09

[khwaibah]

About time we got some more motorways.

[cmsally]

That was tried before on some of the main city centre roads, in fact the lines are probably still there. Maybe someone should tell them tourists like shady trees to cycle under. Whoops forgot can't have any of those because of the plastic spaghetti overhead (ie wires and cables).

[clockman]

Yes, that would be nice. But lets repair the pavements first. Not one pavement is safe for old people to walk on.!

[phanu]

Stupid idea...

[ianf]

Stupid idea...

Why? Why on earth is this a stupid idea? Explain yourself. Far better to encourage cycle use (as per London) than to increasingly have to deal with polluting traffic jams.

One thing I would say here: for goodness sake call them cycle lanes so as not to encourage motorbikes to use them.

[daoyai]

Stupid idea...

Why? Why on earth is this a stupid idea? Explain yourself. Far better to encourage cycle use (as per London) than to increasingly have to deal with polluting traffic jams.

One thing I would say here: for goodness sake call them cycle lanes so as not to encourage motorbikes to use them.

It is not really a stupid idea BUT we that live here know that they will screw it up because the people that will be in charge of it are not in charge because they have knowledge and experience to carry it out properly ... they are in these positions through nepotism and corruption. We remember that they put in "bike lanes" at great expense a couple years ago that consisted of flashing lights embedded in the roadways that when they stopped flashing within a couple months were forgotten and eventuall just broke off, end of bike lanes but somebody made a lot of money from installing them.... The layout of the city leaves no room for segragated designated lane, they would be overrun with motorbikes guaranteed because who has the incentive to enforce the segragated lanes? NOW if they could put in a bike, walking path along the river, that would be nice.

[Saan]

Stupid idea...

Why? Why on earth is this a stupid idea? Explain yourself. Far better to encourage cycle use (as per London) than to increasingly have to deal with polluting traffic jams.

One thing I would say here: for goodness sake call them cycle lanes so as not to encourage motorbikes to use them.

I think it is not a good idea because it will give cyclist a false sense of security that the lane is exclusively reserved for cycling. While the reality will be that everyone will ignore the rules governing the use of these lanes and cyclist will be in more jeopardy than they already are.

Get the policing of road rules already in existence in order first and then look to catering exclusively to one sort of transport.

Apart from that are there that many roads in Chiang Mai that have room to add a cycling lane?

[jobin]

I rode my bike on the sidewalk, aka pedestrian pathway, for half mile on HuayKaew Rd from before Canal to Maya. The roadway was totally plugged with cars and ugly pollution. I saved good time and my bronchial airways.

[Frank James]

Nobody is going to pay the least attention to these "special lanes". There's just too much traffic, and people will drive wherever they can to get through it. Gigantic waste of money and paint.

I am a commited everyday bicyclist in CM, and know that it's my obligation to harmonize with the traffic. Bicycles are a very distant Number Three in the traffic world. Find a way, make a way.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Frank James

[New beginnings]

What's the difference between a pavement and a road in Chiang Mai? Answer nothing! Do people really think the locals will respect any so called cycle lanes any differently. The authorities seem to actually encourage people to drive on, park on and obstruct the pavements in general. If they are really serious before bringing in cycle lanes they should sort out the pavements.

[catterwell]

Another duplicate deleted. Sorry my mouse is getting carried away!

Edited November 9, 2014 by catterwell

[catterwell]

That seems like a lot of money. At Bt1,000 per metre, it would buy 23,000 kilometres. At a million baht per metre, it would buy 23 km. Suppose you could do 100 km of bike lanes in Chiang Mai, it would work out to Bt230,000 per metre. What would a Bt230,000/m bike lane look like??

Edited November 9, 2014 by catterwell

[catterwell]

Another duplicate deleted. Time to buy a new mouse.

Edited November 9, 2014 by catterwell

[ToddinChonburi]

What a waste of money !!!!

[Alwyn]

Great ideas but is it feasible? Will cars acknowledge these lanes at all? Also from memory the worst potholes, dangerous and slippery when wet manhole covers are in the area of road closest (within a metre) to the kerb, drain-aways are sometimes a lot lower than the surface of the road and deeper than a lot of potholes.. One thing for sure it will take a lot of policing as motorbike users already go wherever they want, I think this will be a dangerous scenario unfortunately.

[catterwell]

That seems like a lot of money. At Bt1,000 per metre, it would buy 23,000 kilometres. At a million baht per metre, it would buy 23 km. Suppose you could do 100 km of bike lanes in Chiang Mai, it would work out to Bt230,000 per metre. What would a Bt230,000/m bike lane look like??

Sorry, I misread Bn when it should have been mn, so divide my numbers by 1,000. Not an overboard budget with certain assumptions.

[jko]

I am willing to bet that whoever will be in charge of this scheme has never experienced what it is like to ride a bike around his/her own city, far less walked for more than 50 metres on the city's 'pavements' except to reach their nice air-conditioned car.

If it does go ahead, how it will turn out is therefore questionable. Previous bike lanes which appeared on Huay Kaew many years ago rapidly became unnavigable.

It is anyway too late.

Chiang Mai has been developed over decades without a scrap of environmental or city planning. It is now like some kind of relentless triffid, which expands without shape or form, gobbling up space wherever it is available, relentlessly replacing rice fields with moobahns, condos, shopping complexes, and yet more roads.

Our lovely Lanna capital has permanently surrendered its culture, and its spirit, to motor vehicles and concrete. Dreams of lovely Lanna-decorated tram cars gliding gracefully along the ring roads, and down into city arteries such as Suthep and Huay Kaew roads are, alas, long dead.

This once-charming place now worships cars and motor cycles. It will inevitably stay that way, growing steadily worse.

Bicycle lanes for the stalwart and commendable few who continue to pedal their noble machines through the carbon monoxide fumes will not change or improve anything.

Nor is it likely to encourage many newbies to dump their steering wheels and jump into the saddle.

[Benmart]

Traffic and bicycle initiatives are doomed to failure if there is a lack of support from the police, motoring community, vendors and the public in general.

Education, enforcement and maintenance are the three legs of the stool to make such an endeavor a success. Unfortunately, it seems, many stools in this country are lacking the prerequisite number of legs.

[SiggiCM]

yes Thailand will be a hub for bycikle holidays

yes beat the dutch or germans

from my hometown i can drive to my sisters house (67km way), and there is no 200 m I have to drive on a normal street with cars, all

way is for bikes protected and goes along nice nature and rivers

in Thailand you got hunted by pickups and motobikes, bycikle lanes in CM is a big joke, where you want to bild them? only when you make the lanes like a skytrain

[connda]

How about bt23 to fix the pathetic immigration services that are a national embarrassment (but then again, Thais don't have to deal with it so it's a non-issue).

Bike Lanes vs Immigration Services? (I think I've peed my pants)

[Ulysses G.]

Most of the tourists on bicycles right now in CM are completely clueless. They make the roads even more dangerous than they were already. Why encourage more of them?

Edited November 9, 2014 by Ulysses G.

[Sparkles]

Another "feel good" announcement. Where will they build them in the city ? the streets are so narrow now that leaves only the pot holed footpaths.

CM is crying our for a total transport plan as grid lock is fast approaching.Town planners seem to be non existent unless you want to put up an electronic billboard,they are going up like mushrooms as there is money for someone.

[PlanetX]

Because we all know "high quality European" tourists ride bicycles when they are on vacation

[fforest1]

Bike riding in Thailand is for the poor and children if you want to ride a bike move to Amsterdam.

[robertthebruce]

Thailand and Cycling is a non starter.....

Dangerous as hell, unless you are off the beaten track, then you have to deal with the Packs of stray Dogs...

[Saan]

What's the difference between a pavement and a road in Chiang Mai? Answer nothing! Do people really think the locals will respect any so called cycle lanes any differently. The authorities seem to actually encourage people to drive on, park on and obstruct the pavements in general. If they are really serious before bringing in cycle lanes they should sort out the pavements.

There is a difference between pavements and roads in Chiang Mai. The roads are generally in better condition.

[Borzandy]

We got here (Hua Hin) some bike lanes, it's funny, even painters who did the job on the road do not know why it is made for. Not any car respects them. Only motorbikes try to follow the lines (me too).

[Asiantravel]

yes Thailand will be a hub for bycikle holidays

yes beat the dutch or germans

from my hometown i can drive to my sisters house (67km way), and there is no 200 m I have to drive on a normal street with cars, all

way is for bikes protected and goes along nice nature and rivers

in Thailand you got hunted by pickups and motobikes, bycikle lanes in CM is a big joke, where you want to bild them? only when you make the lanes like a skytrain

" only when you make the lanes like a skytrain "

Exactly !!

[slapout]

That is a lot of money to be spent on repainting in some cases and adding painted lines in others. There is nowhere to build bike lanes as its already concrete road and footpath so there are only left with marking off/up the existing roadways (AGAIN). Chaing Mai has managed to use solid, broken, angled, etc paint lines in and around the city and they seem to use a quaility of paint so as a annual redo is needed.

The request for such a large sum for painting lines with equipment and personnel already om payroll could appear as just someone looking to add more to theiir theft account