Campaign for alternate designs to Chao Phraya promenade

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Campaign for alternate designs to Chao Phraya promenade
Pratch Rujivanarom
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- A GROUP called the Friends of River has launched a campaign on Facebook, urging people to come up with an alternative design to the government's Chao Phraya Riverside Promenade Project, which has been the subject of criticism.

The "Sketches for the River Challenge" campaign calls for people to submit designs that will take into account local people's way of life, community culture, history and the environment.

Those joining the campaign are also encouraged to introduce the challenge to at least three other people. So far, 20 designs have been submitted.

Yossapon Boonsom, founder of the campaign, said the new designs would eventually be submitted to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the government.

"In two weeks, our group will also hold an exhibition on the project, in which the alternative designs will be presented alongside facts and case studies of similar projects. The intention is to raise awareness and publicise facts about the project," Yossapon said.

He explained that in order for the BMA to properly implement the project, it should first study local communities and open the door to public participation, as the government's plan has completely ignored local communities.

"It's a good thing that the BMA called on the Association of Siamese Architects to take part in the designing the project's master plan, but we want to see more public participation," he said.

Most of the designs submitted to the campaign aim to cut down on concrete infrastructure, reconcile with the river's environment and adapt to nearby communities.

Yossapon himself has submitted a design in which there is a pedestrian walkway flanked by trees and several open green spaces along the river. His design also includes tidal pools that can be used for rare water plants and habitats for aquatic animals. His plan matches the local environment and reduces the effect on local communities and historic buildings.

Many people have objected to the government's plan to build a Bt14-billion promenade along the Chao Phraya, saying it will deeply impact the riverside way of life, the environment and water drainage capacity in the event of flooding. According to the Association for Chao Phraya Riverside Development, 27 communities will be affected by the 14-kilometre long promenade, not just one as claimed by the BMA.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Campaign-for-alternate-designs-to-Chao-Phraya-prom-30261394.html


-- The Nation 2015-06-02

[smedly]

this is a great idea but the gypsies will have to be evicted first

[cumgranosalum]

^{like most things this government does, it is a question of how far back you want to set the clock back?}

^{isn't it about time that someone came up with some ideas based on sound modern eco-friendly thinking???}

[wowfactor10]

The river its really BKK best feature it need to get developed more and should offer tourist locals and visitors recreational options suc as sports and chiling ..To make it elevated its good idea as it offers more winds and nicer views...

[cumgranosalum]

The river its really BKK best feature it need to get developed more and should offer tourist locals and visitors recreational options suc as sports and chiling ..To make it elevated its good idea as it offers more winds and nicer views...

What it looks like is only part of the picture....the Chaopraya delta is a complex system of channels the banks etc are/were constantly changing and unthought out man-made modifications to the banks can have all sorts of knock-on effects.

Bangkok is sinking at present AND waters are rising. Forest clearances and unregulated clearances up stream have adversely affected the flows of the river - which always floods, but these floods are made worse by man-made interferences. The increase of flow through the delta system also "dries" out or drains the land around the river which in turn causes sinking a subsidence....these sort of problems were well demonstrated in New Orleans where old outdated and badly maintained flood policies lead to disaster.

My problem is that 40 to 50 years ago these sort of modifications to river banks, along with mangrove clearances and land drainage were carried out all over the world without any though for the knock-on effects.......but in places like US, Europe and Australia they are now frowned upon and nothing like this is carried out without in-depth research into the environmental ramifications.....I suspect this sort of thing has been given virtually no consideration by those who came up with the idea, and those who are contracted to carry out the work will keep quiet about any concerns that may lose them money

[coulson]

The river its really BKK best feature it need to get developed more and should offer tourist locals and visitors recreational options suc as sports and chiling ..To make it elevated its good idea as it offers more winds and nicer views...

What it looks like is only part of the picture....the Chaopraya delta is a complex system of channels the banks etc are/were constantly changing and unthought out man-made modifications to the banks can have all sorts of knock-on effects.

Bangkok is sinking at present AND waters are rising. Forest clearances and unregulated clearances up stream have adversely affected the flows of the river - which always floods, but these floods are made worse by man-made interferences. The increase of flow through the delta system also "dries" out or drains the land around the river which in turn causes sinking a subsidence....these sort of problems were well demonstrated in New Orleans where old outdated and badly maintained flood policies lead to disaster.

My problem is that 40 to 50 years ago these sort of modifications to river banks, along with mangrove clearances and land drainage were carried out all over the world without any though for the knock-on effects.......but in places like US, Europe and Australia they are now frowned upon and nothing like this is carried out without in-depth research into the environmental ramifications.....I suspect this sort of thing has been given virtually no consideration by those who came up with the idea, and those who are contracted to carry out the work will keep quiet about any concerns that may lose them money

Don't disagree with you, but I don't think the eventual plans to dress up the banks of an insightful river are significantly at fault or any cause for great concern amidst the big picture. Relatively light cosmetic works such as this don't have to affect the cross section of the river itself. I think the environmental impact should also be the deal breaker when reviewing the potential plans. The river geo-morphology is already well established and can only be further examined for changes in times of disaster. Alas, seems specialists are now more concerned with Natural disasters such as Earthquakes 'maybe' happening in the wake of Nepal, rather than looking at what historically happens on their own doorstep. Maybe they need a fortuneteller to predict another flood?!

Absolutely agree, what happens upstream is a major problem that COULD be addressed, also the rapid Urbanization increasing stress on existing drainage network and the continuing retrieval of well water in turn reducing the integrity of the strata. But I have yet to read about imposing a levy on Urban Developers that goes towards upgrading the local services, yet to see any real plans for flood control in the catchment area or any plans to control the density of building.

If you look at the facts & trends specific to Bangkok, by 2050 it is predicted that mean rainfall could increase by 2-3%, the surface topography could subside by between 50-290mm and the sea level may increase between 190-290mm. Even with the best possible outlook, it is only likely to assume that the City could only ever achieve a reduced rate of 'worsening' to the situation, I do not see anything significant being achieved in terms of prevention. This may even require another disaster similar to 2011, just to stimulate the response.

It doesn't appear to me that lining the Chao Phraya is going to cause too much of an issue in light of the bigger picture, so long as whatever plans to 'decorate' it can, at least, consider a higher water level than what we see today.

This reminds me of another thread on the Bangkok Condo Market, but that's a different issue.

While on subject, in relation to such plans as chao phraya river development, does anyone know where I can access the current Bangkok Master plan? The nearest I can get is the land use map of 2006.........

Edited June 2, 2015 by coulson