Bangkok to have five more walking streets soon

[webfact]

Bangkok to have five more walking streets soon



BANGKOK: -- Bangkok has fixed five more locations covering North Bangkok, East Bangkok, Central Bangkok, and South Bangkok (Thonburi side) to turn them to walking streets under the policy of the prime minister to stimulate economy and increase earning for low-income people.

Advisor to Bangkok governor Sukhumbhan Paribatra, Pol Maj-Gen Vichai Sangpraphai disclosed today after a meeting to assess success in opening walking street on Silom road that the launch on Silom road was successful to enable people to buy food and other consumer products at low prices.

The meeting agreed to fix five more places to turn into walking streets to stimulate economy and help street vendors who were evicted and affected by the policy of the National Council for Peace and Order to “return sidewalk to pedestrians” to have places to make earnings.

The five locations are Chaengwattana 5 in Laksi district of North Bangkok, Yaowaraj road (China Town) in Samphantawong district of Central Bangkok, Ramkhamhaeng 24 in Bangkapi district of East Bangkok, Bang Khunnon road in Bangkok Noi district of South Bangkok (Krungthon side), and in area beneath Rama 9 bridge in Ratburana district of South Bangkok.

He said that in these five new locations, walking street atmosphere for shopping might be held either on Friday or Saturday and Sunday, while food to be sold also will reflect the culture and identity of each community such as farm products, community products or OTOP.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bangkok-five-walking-streets-soon


-- Thai PBS 2015-01-16

[maapaa]

"Culture and identity of each COMMUNITY."

Wow, there will be variety! 5555

(a few more fish dishes here, a few more Somm Dtumm vendors there ...)

Edited January 15, 2015 by maapaa

[ezzra]

Walking streets in Thailand means that footpath is clogged with all kind of sellers and

shop's owner's cars parked everywhere...

[Bakeman]

At first I thought they were opening 5 more Pattaya walking streets.

[Manbing]

When anyone mentions walking St in Thailand I always think they are trying to recreate the original in Pattaya.

More a center of commerce than cultural values.

[Mr Somtam]

"Culture and identity of each COMMUNITY."

Wow, there will be variety! 5555

(a few more fish dishes here, a few more Somm Dtumm vendors there ...)

What the heck are you talking about? Som tum, pla glua? No, more different types of wooden frogs of course!

[kingalfred]

So after starting to remove the vendors blocking footpaths,selling their poison and junk in the daytime, its a case of blocking whole streets. Comical Thailand!

Edited January 16, 2015 by kingalfred

[maapaa]

"Culture and identity of each COMMUNITY."

Wow, there will be variety! 5555

(a few more fish dishes here, a few more Somm Dtumm vendors there ...)

What the heck are you talking about? Som tum, pla glua? No, more different types of wooden frogs of course!

Sorry, you are right. I forgot the frogs and wooden dildos, yes.

[SOTIRIOS]

....closing off a street or two....is a good idea....

...it will keep the vendors off the sidewalks....creating a market of sorts.....

[Don Aleman]

Only a Cyclops,( eye in middle of forehead), could actually walk more than 30 meters anywhere in Thailand without stumbling over pavement holes/missing/lopsided tiles being blindsided by dangling cables and ,non working middle of the pavement phone booths, while observing oncoming sidewalk commercial motorbike traffic

[stopthegreed]

Walking streets, you wonr be able to walk, the only reason the street vendors don't use the road is because a car will run over them. Take the cars away and it will just be a mass of vendors, with no space for pedestrians. Look at Kho San road and you will see what I mean

[dapperdan]

They'll measure out 3 X 3 Meter stands, number them and rent them out to the vendors who were displaced from the sidewalk. The spots on Sukhumvit, where vendors were, around Soi 39, for example, are now motorcycle parking places. Still clogged up for pedestrians. How about adding a few safe crosswalks, with red lights, for pedestrians to cross the street in safety. I don't mean stupid red light arrows or bridges to climb up.

[LuckyLew]

Baffled ... just what Bangkok needs, more markets and more vendors blocking / clogging the streets

They just cleaned up Ramkhamhaeng and widened the sidewalks and redid them all and many older vendors are now gone

It is actually kind of a nice stroll up and down in the evenings

So why on earth they want to bring more clutter and crap to this area is curious if not stupid

[inzman]

Does that mean they will have gogo bars? Hehe

[wabothai]

Great idea, no annoying taxi and tuk tuks hungry for a buck, no cars parked, no boys out of control boys with their motocys.

Most big cities around the world have it.

[Nemesis7]

And the entertainment goes on and on......

[Laughing Gravy]

I don't always agree but if done correctly I believe it is a good idea. I look forward to seeing them. Once again done properly please so I can honestly say something has changed since taking power.

Now item 2 on the list reducing the traffic congestion. If that happens I might just stop complaining.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Laughing Gravy

[Rykbanlor]

With traffic like Bangkok, this seems like the last thing you would want to do. Whats wrong with having these events in parkland (think Suan Lum) or converted wasteland areas?

And as a tiny little after-rant: Who needs another frickin market? They all sell the same stuff from one side of the country to the next. Of all the myriad markets splattered all over the country there are only a fraction that are actually unique or interesting, although credit where due, the good markets are damned good.

Maybe living down in Krabi for the last 5 years has darkened my perception a bit, as the markets down here are really lame, so much so I'd probably rather lick anthrax spores than be forced to walk another one again.

[Guest]

Part of the charm of Thailand is the amazing street food and independent vendors who fill the city.

It is ironic that the foreign champions of free enterprise do not like it when they see it.

I often look at the family that runs my favorite food stall, soup stall, coffee stall, etc ... and think ... wow, this is pure capitalism. Got a bike? Got 10 mangos? Congratulations, you are in the mango business ! Now I am not naive and know about tea money etc ... but still ... the fact remains, this is a place where anyone can, with enough patience and hard work, support themselves.

The system they had in place, which was supply and demand operating perfectly, should have been left alone. If there was no need for "X" number of food stalls, the laws of supply and demand would eventually reduce them. in other words, there are there, because enough people WANT them there!

I love the street scene, and it is a boon for everyone, seller and buyer.

As for walking ... ??? How far do foreigners actually walk anyway. From the BTS to the destination? From the office to BTS? To the curb to hail a taxi?

I look at my soup man, working side by side with his whole family. They work 10 hours each night. He does not wonder where is son and duaghters are. he does not wonder if they are taking drugs or getting knocked up. They are right there, working thier tails off under his, and Mom's watchful eye. And you know what? They look well adjusted and HAPPY.

He stops at times, and withhis hands on his hips and a wide smile, surveys his tiny kingdom. His world where he reigns over a suop kitchen in front of a 7-11, and at times, he looks to me to be the richest man alive, and happy in his tiny world.

I wish the average American family had half the bond this family has, and the independence they all enjoy from the 9 2 5 rat race i came from.

I know it is hard work. I know it is tediuos to make soup all night., But wow, they really have a family, and thier kids go to school all day, and probably ... will go far beyond making soup someday. His son speaks better English than the president of my bank.

In short, the law of supply and demand has done a great job of managing the streets of BKK, levee it alone.

[berybert]

I just wanna walking pavement. How hard can it be !!!!!!!!!!!!

[expatoz]

does that mean more bars too ???????????????

[Toany]

I just wanna walking pavement. How hard can it be !!!!!!!!!!!!

They tore up out pavement and planted bushes forcing you to walk in a busy street TIT

As long as it look good

[FireMedic]

5 more areas clogged with crap products, food, motorbikes driving on the sidewalks and in the wrong directions, and taxis at either end that won't use the meter. Bring it on I say.....

[claffey]

So after starting to remove the vendors blocking footpaths,selling their poison and junk in the daytime, its a case of blocking whole streets. Comical Thailand!

The vendors block footpaths on a daily basis. These walking streets are markets that will take place once a month. Similar to farmer markets back home...Try to think before posting rubbish and anti Thai vitriol!.

[claffey]

Part of the charm of Thailand is the amazing street food and independent vendors who fill the city.

It is ironic that the foreign champions of free enterprise do not like it when they see it.

I often look at the family that runs my favorite food stall, soup stall, coffee stall, etc ... and think ... wow, this is pure capitalism. Got a bike? Got 10 mangos? Congratulations, you are in the mango business ! Now I am not naive and know about tea money etc ... but still ... the fact remains, this is a place where anyone can, with enough patience and hard work, support themselves.

The system they had in place, which was supply and demand operating perfectly, should have been left alone. If there was no need for "X" number of food stalls, the laws of supply and demand would eventually reduce them. in other words, there are there, because enough people WANT them there!

I love the street scene, and it is a boon for everyone, seller and buyer.

As for walking ... ??? How far do foreigners actually walk anyway. From the BTS to the destination? From the office to BTS? To the curb to hail a taxi?

I look at my soup man, working side by side with his whole family. They work 10 hours each night. He does not wonder where is son and duaghters are. he does not wonder if they are taking drugs or getting knocked up. They are right there, working thier tails off under his, and Mom's watchful eye. And you know what? They look well adjusted and HAPPY.

He stops at times, and withhis hands on his hips and a wide smile, surveys his tiny kingdom. His world where he reigns over a suop kitchen in front of a 7-11, and at times, he looks to me to be the richest man alive, and happy in his tiny world.

I wish the average American family had half the bond this family has, and the independence they all enjoy from the 9 2 5 rat race i came from.

I know it is hard work. I know it is tediuos to make soup all night., But wow, they really have a family, and thier kids go to school all day, and probably ... will go far beyond making soup someday. His son speaks better English than the president of my bank.

In short, the law of supply and demand has done a great job of managing the streets of BKK, levee it alone.

Finally. A positive post! We all have chosen to live here so it must be better than our other options... And don't think that the soup man is not making money. Good food stalls can turnover 30 - 40 thousand a day!! A lot of tourists think that the street sellers are all poor. Some of them probably are but a lot of them are earning more than the westerners here...

[impulse]

Probably not the right place to post this, but I enjoyed my visit to the Silom walking street yesterday afternoon. Only took about an hour to walk it both ways, but it was a pleasant distraction.

Admittedly, the same crap you can find everywhere else, but in a much more relaxed atmosphere. One end was quite crowded (around BTS x MRT), but the crowd on the other end was pretty sparse.

I was also amazed at the number of BMA guys keeping order- dozens of them, and most very friendly.

Then walked across the street to the TAT shindig in Lumpini Park and thoroughly enjoyed walking around there- though there were some areas way too crowded to walk.

[Maenamray]

Can anyone tell me what are the traffic free hours for Silom Road walking street? I was there today between 2 and 3. The road was blocked off but cars and motorbikes were going in both directions on both sides of the road. Lots of guys in uniforms standing around talking, but no one was stopping cars and motorbikes coming out of sois.

[Thian]

Great idea, no annoying taxi and tuk tuks hungry for a buck, no cars parked, no boys out of control boys with their motocys.

Most big cities around the world have it.

There will always be some Thai driving their motorcycles into the crowd or streethawkers with pushcarts.

Then we get the vendors who arrived too late and still have to build up their stand and the ones who want to go home early because the soap is on tv and they have to watch that.

Next problem is lowhanging roofs above the stands or electric cables/waterpipes on the floor. Beggars who come to sit in the walkways or the local blind who will be guided around to sing a song.

I prefer big malls with big shops.

[DM07]

There is one OTOP- walking at Silom, near the river!

Empty, almost all the time, only half the shops even rented out!

Complete waste of money and time.

[Mencken]

Glad Thailand has officials with such depth and foresight. Genius.