Thai editorial: Giving the pavement back to pedestrians

[Cake Monster]

Pattaya has a really bad problem, with the few sidewalks that are in existance being blocked by food vendors mostly.

With the construction of all the " shop houses " in the city, the people who own / rent these places, assume that the whole sidewalk belongs to them, and them alone.

It seems to be the done thing in Patts, that you rent a " shophouse " that has been correctly constructed, and has a frontage to it at a minimum of 3 Meters back from the Soi ( which is a legal requirement ). You then proceed to set a stall, selling whatever, right to the street edge so that your customers are not inconvenienced by having to get off the scooter or out of the car to order food.

Of course, there is no consideration paid to the needs of children, mothers with young kids, the elderly or the infirmed, and these people just have to take their chances among the scooters and cars in the street.

[boomerangutang]

In the northernmost point of Thailand, Mae Sai, a similar program has been implemented. Far fewer sidewalk vendors than a short time ago. Good, yes, but let's give a thought to the vendor. Virtually none can afford to rent a shop space, so where can they go? Admittedly, there are too many vendors for the # of customers, and now with less tourists throughout Thailand, more touristy stuff is simply not sold. How about a designated 7-day/week market at nearby fairgrounds? That might enable some vendors to peddle their wares, though there would still be some token rents (for spaces) and backed up items not sold. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than compelling vendors to quit working.

Vendors also have people who back them up, such as craftsmen and food preparers who lose work when there's no venue and fewer tourists.

In the bigger picture, it comes down to overpopulation (too many of one species for the carrying capacity of the region), but that's a topic that no politician wants to even whisper about.

[Prbkk]

Of course this is being applied selectively: note that the restaurants invading the pavement are permitted to continue to do so while the small vendors are the ones being forced away. Just look at Sois 5 and 11, no change at all...the connected restaurant owners continue to invade the (unpaid for, public) pavement space...inconveniencing everyone

[thaibeachlovers]

In the northernmost point of Thailand, Mae Sai, a similar program has been implemented. Far fewer sidewalk vendors than a short time ago. Good, yes, but let's give a thought to the vendor. Virtually none can afford to rent a shop space, so where can they go? Admittedly, there are too many vendors for the # of customers, and now with less tourists throughout Thailand, more touristy stuff is simply not sold. How about a designated 7-day/week market at nearby fairgrounds? That might enable some vendors to peddle their wares, though there would still be some token rents (for spaces) and backed up items not sold. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than compelling vendors to quit working.

Vendors also have people who back them up, such as craftsmen and food preparers who lose work when there's no venue and fewer tourists.

In the bigger picture, it comes down to overpopulation (too many of one species for the carrying capacity of the region), but that's a topic that no politician wants to even whisper about.

Singapore solved the problem by setting up off street food courts for vendors. Worked well.

[martin501]

Oh dear