Asoke street vendors’ turn to face axe

[Thaivisa News]

Bangkok:- The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will soon ban daytime vending on the Asoke Montree Road following complaints by the people that vending stalls are completely blocking the roadsides, Wallop Suwannadee, chief advisor to the BMA governor said.

Wallop said over 100 street vendors are causing nuisance to passers-by on the road so the BMA has to put the place into order. He said the BMA decided to allow vending on the Asoke Montree Road only at night.

Wallop said the Watana district office has been instructed to find new venues for the day-time street vendors of Asoke.

Boontham Huiprasert, the director of Watana district office, said at present the BMA set aside an area for vendors to sell on the Asoke Montree Road from 6 am to 6 pm but many vendors have been selling outside the permitted zone.

He said the roadsides are full with vendors days and nights. The district office has counted that there are 142 daytime street vendors and 34 nighttime vendors on the Asoke Montree Road.

The BMA has a policy to ban vending during the day on the Asoke Montree and the vending will be allowed from 7 pm to midnight only, Boontham said.

He said he will next week hold talks with owners of private properties on the road to allocate spaces for the street vending. For example, the vendors may be allowed to sell in the Srinakharinwirot University and the Thai Franchise Center.

“I would like to ask owners of buildings and owners of private firms along the Asoke road, which exist in high number, to allocate spaces for canteens for their staffs,” Boontham said.

“Most offices do not have canteens, prompting their staffs to shop for foods on the street.”

The BMA has already banned vending on several major roads, including Silom.

[Naroge]

Where will all the office workers in this area now find their lunch meal?

[Loles]

Anyway I like so much street vendors in BKK but what they do in walkways this is unacceptable.

Just check Sukhumvit 77 (on nut rd,) Big C side. You can't walk at all between Big C and Sukhumvit road.

Every Monday the walkway is free I guess Police make some activity those time. The Police station around 20 meters ...

And if come lottery days (1. and 16. of months) the situation is much worse.

[carib102]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

[petedk]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

But can the average office worker afford the 90 baht price tag of many food courts compared with the 30 baht food stalls?

[dapperdan]

They chased all the vendors from Soi 41. Now it's just parked cars and you have to dodge moving cars since there's no sidewalks. Few places to choose to eat now and more people without a source of income. The Thai working folks can always line up a Au Bon Pain for lunch. The parked cars are "beautiful."

[bkkjames]

Where will all the office workers in this area now find their lunch meal?

At one of the 5 markets located in nearby subsois

[mango66]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

But can the average office worker afford the 90 baht price tag of many food courts compared with the 30 baht food stalls?

than they will not purchase 3 times a day 3 sets,

but as me, for lunch 2 sets, and dinner in home with family :-)))

[Guitar God]

How about allowing booths on one side of the sidewalk instead of both sides which leaves only about a 80cm path down the middle?

I'm guessing that would make too much sense?

I like the vendors there but there's only room to block half the sidewalk.

[timendres]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

Why does everyone want to change the very things that make Thailand the place that it is?

If you want Singapore, then get on a plane and GO. I couldn't get out of that boring country fast enough...

[bkkjames]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

Why does everyone want to change the very things that make Thailand the place that it is?

If you want Singapore, then get on a plane and GO. I couldn't get out of that boring country fast enough...

footpaths blocked with vendors selling plastic crap and fried flour is exciting for you?

anyway, I notice every Monday that the vendors are gone already for weekly cleaning of the streets etc. From what I can tell, not one single office worker has starved because of it.

Edited February 23, 2015 by bkkjames

[BKKdreaming]

since every week it is a new street that is getting cleared,

it must be a plan to get all the streets cleared in the long term.,

May I ask where are these 10s of thousands of people going to get a job ?

and the idea of building canteens for their staffs is also a joke since most of the tall buildings have many companies , so who is going to build these canteens ?

is there really a bigger reason ? How about the "rent" for these street stalls that never goes into the city budget, and the power play between the Junta and the local Police "landlords"

Edited February 24, 2015 by BKKdreaming

[carib102]

They will find their lunches in the canteens, which are now being recommended and will later be required. Indoor street food "markets" such as you find in Singapore would not be a bad thing here. Truthfully I love Thai street food, but am not really all that crazy about eating on the street. A similar solution to the one implemented in Singapore would allow vendors to make money, customers to enjoy the food, and everyone to avoid the pollution and garbage of eating by the roadside. Thailand is a civilized country, right?

But can the average office worker afford the 90 baht price tag of many food courts compared with the 30 baht food stalls?

Yes they can. And there are very few 30 baht food stalls around Asoke any longer; or anywhere in the CBD for that matter. The building my wife works in has a food court and it is jam packed with office workers every day, despite the fact that there are loads of rubbish street vendors just outside the building.