Sukhumvit street vendors ordered off road tonight. Will it be business as usual?

[webfact]

Sukhumvit street vendors ordered off road tonight. Will it be business as usual?

By Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter -

 

A woman in Soi Sukhumvit 19 cooks food for sale last week in front of a city notice that vendors must be gone by Monday.

 

BANGKOK — Come tonight, the football jerseys, wooden elephants, cheap electronics, sex toys, Viagra, cheap food, DVDs, velvet paintings, sarongs and everything else that has been sold along the northern side of Sukhumvit Road for decades is supposed to be a thing of the past.

 

Vendors said notices first appeared two weeks ago warning that come Oct. 3, they would no longer be allowed to set up stalls in the evening from sois 1 to 21, which routinely turn that side of the road into a kind of busy night bazaar.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2016/10/03/sukhumvit-street-vendors-ordered-off-road-tonight-will-business-usual/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2016-10-03

[Squeegee]

Tacky, yes, but it was a fascinating place brimming with character(s).

 

As opposed to yet another main road in just another city.

[planr]

Considering that it is  Monday, yes there will be no street vendors... as it is every Monday. Tomorrow will be the real bellwether

[mercman24]

always been the same no stalls on a monday, for pavement cleaning, have never seen it though, pavements black with crud from food stalls, disgusting

[gdgbb]

If these vendors are permanently moved on the other 'traders' that foul the area around Soi 13 are going to stick put like sore thumbs unless they are redeployed to other parts (the African continent, for example).

[jvs]

I for one hate to see this go,it does attract many people from all over the world and it is a place where many people buy their souvenirs.

It goes two ways,the stalls are blocking the footpath,yes they do.I do think that when the stalls are gone there won't be any people left

either.

 

 

[mcfish]

Yeeeeeesssssssssss!!!!!!!

About <deleted!> time. Bangkok makes its first real transition to first world.

Walking the pavements normally instead of fighting the greedy grubs who have made it near impossible

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk
 

 

Edited October 3, 2016 by metisdead
Please discontinue your efforts to post in a profane manner.

[kingalfred]

Apparently vendors were supposed to be gone from Silom road by now but....um enforcement haha


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[mcfish]

I for one hate to see this go,it does attract many people from all over the world and it is a place where many people buy their souvenirs.
It goes two ways,the stalls are blocking the footpath,yes they do.I do think that when the stalls are gone there won't be any people left
either.
 
 

Tourists don't come to bangkok primarily to buy trinkets or see pics of erect lady boy dvds and 10 inch dildos . It doesn't happen in other Asian countries to the same extent and people still visit.

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[mcfish]

Apparently vendors were supposed to be gone from Silom road by now but....um enforcement haha


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

This area is different they Already strictly enforce the 7pm curfew with multiple bib on every street corner

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[YeahSiam]

While it would be sad to see the street bars go, I certainly won't miss some of the aggressive and unpleasant vendors selling knock off designer wear and dildoes

[bark]

2 hours ago, planr said:

Considering that it is  Monday, yes there will be no street vendors... as it is every Monday. Tomorrow will be the real bellwether

Yes correct. Nothing on Mondays; Last 12 years I have lived here. Tuesday will be real test.

[Bangkok Barry]

To answer the headline - yes, next week. Meanwhile, does the ban include the illegal, unlicensed bars that are owned by Thais and allowed to operate until dawn, while the licensed bars - usually owned by law-abiding foreigners - have to close at 2 or 3am? Well, we know the answer to that I guess.

[Alive]

I thought SHUT DOWN BANGKOK movement ended some time ago. Eventually there will be nothing left in the city but malls.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Alive

[holy cow cm]

3 hours ago, mcfish said:

Yeeeeeesssssssssss!!!!!!!

About <deleted!> time. Bangkok makes its first real transition to first world.

Walking the pavements normally instead of fighting the greedy grubs who have made it near impossible

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk
 

 

I do not like your comment as it is part of Bangkok and the Wonder of Thailand. I suggest that if it goes, you do to! Who are you to think and say something as absurd as this. You should be ashamed of yourself!

[holy cow cm]

3 hours ago, mcfish said:

Tourists don't come to bangkok primarily to buy trinkets or see pics of erect lady boy dvds and 10 inch dildos . It doesn't happen in other Asian countries to the same extent and people still visit.

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk
 

You are sooooooo wrong. It is fun and weird for everyone.

[holy cow cm]

So in essence it looks like they are killing Thailand and it is on fast track now. Such a shame!

[snooky]

7PM curfew?

Does that mean that after 7PM no pedestrians will be allowed to walk freely without squeezing between stalls, some set up in construction areas with only about 2 feet of width?

As suggested in another forum - how about painting two lines about 6 feet apart along the sidewalks (footpaths) and no vendor may encroach on that area?

Sorry, I forgot - between overpasses, SkyTrain stairs, lampposts, telephone boxes etc.,  there is usually not even that much free width on the entire sidewalk in many places.

Edited October 3, 2016 by snooky

[applepie16]

Another step in the Singaporisation of Bangkok. Eventually Sukhumvit will be solid condos from soi 1 to 105 and beyond, the character and street life I have known for thirty years will be swept away and I shall be no more.

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, jvs said:

I for one hate to see this go,it does attract many people from all over the world and it is a place where many people buy their souvenirs.

It goes two ways,the stalls are blocking the footpath,yes they do.I do think that when the stalls are gone there won't be any people left

either.

 

 

 

pressure from big business, all vendors will be gone in a few years, just as the tourists will as well. 

[Krataiboy]

Does the government intend to provide retraining and/or alternative employment for the growing legions of Thais losing their livelihoods as a result of crackdowns on street sellers, beach vendors and sex workers in Bangkok and other popular tourist destinations?

 

If not, in "solving" one perceived problem the junta is creating an even bigger one in terms of social dislocation and an inevitable increase in crime as families without a breadwinner do whatever they need to in order to survive.

 

Does anyone in Thailand ever think ahead?

[Kiwiken]

Where those so called Tacky stalls go so will many Tourists it is part of Bangkoks appeal. 

The stall owners will set up in another road or street and then all the Tourists will go there.

While I prefer the Provincial Markets those stalls added life and color to an otherwise droll Road.

[camble]

This is great news.  The biggest problem living in lower Sukhumvit has always been the lack of space for pedestrians. 

[hawker9000]

12 hours ago, jvs said:

I for one hate to see this go,it does attract many people from all over the world and it is a place where many people buy their souvenirs.

It goes two ways,the stalls are blocking the footpath,yes they do.I do think that when the stalls are gone there won't be any people left

either.

 

 

 

Absolutely preposterous.  The vendors, assuming they don't simply return here once the heat's off, will simply relocate.  Those who want to shop will quickly find them and go there if they want to shop.  But that's not many.  'Have walked this dozens & dozens of times. Few - usually VERY few - actually stopping to shop or browse. (So few, that I wonder how they manage to make any money.)  Some do slow down to gawk, and that contributes to the madness.  The vast majority of the pedestrian traffic just wants to get through the congestion these vendors (and the gawkers) create.

Edited October 3, 2016 by hawker9000

[Mike555]

13 hours ago, mcfish said:

Yeeeeeesssssssssss!!!!!!!

About <deleted!> time. Bangkok makes its first real transition to first world.

Walking the pavements normally instead of fighting the greedy grubs who have made it near impossible

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk
 

 

 

Agreed. Having both sides of the street lined up with tourist-trap stalls brings pedestrian traffic to a halt. And this all happens right at peak times. I will, however, miss the food stalls on Sukhumvit after hours...and I hope they somehow find a way to stay (as even locals gotta eat). 

 

On a side note, my local kaao-man-gai place across from me on Sukhumvit (Up near Udomsuk) told me they all have to clear out on the 15th. My Thai isn't that great, so I didn't understand the details of who is making them move, but it's reasonable to assume it's part of the general Sukhumvit "clean-up." So it's possible this is not just a lower-Sukhumvit thing. 

[samsensam]

9 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

So in essence it looks like they are killing Thailand and it is on fast track now. Such a shame!

 

no they are enabling the elderly, disabled, those with babies and children and normal citizens to use the public footpath safely

 

organise specific areas for vendors where they dont cause an obstruction. and oh yes, dont break the law.

[dodojero]

How about the street girls? Are they allowed to do their "business" as usual? Some of them (especially the foreign gals from Uzbekistan, Russia, Uganda etc. will have a big problem if there are no more street shops.... as they used them to sit there and to get in touch with customers. Standing on the sidewalk the police would catch them. 

 

[moe666]

13 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

To answer the headline - yes, next week. Meanwhile, does the ban include the illegal, unlicensed bars that are owned by Thais and allowed to operate until dawn, while the licensed bars - usually owned by law-abiding foreigners - have to close at 2 or 3am? Well, we know the answer to that I guess.

I guess the fact that Hillary bar is owned by a Thai is new to you, they put there own sidewalk Bar out at Midnight

[holy cow cm]

7 hours ago, samsensam said:

 

no they are enabling the elderly, disabled, those with babies and children and normal citizens to use the public footpath safely

 

organise specific areas for vendors where they dont cause an obstruction. and oh yes, dont break the law.

Sorry, but yes you are entitled to your sofa opinion. 24-25yrs already been seeing it and occasionally love to walk in it when have the chance in BKK. Have an old friend have not seen in over 20 yrs coming next week and he has never been here. There will be no side walk fizz for him to say wOwwwww. Thailand's days are numbered for Western tourists. This will look like China in another few yrs. Chiang Mai already does, like Pattaya resembles Russia.  And for the record, Thais in the area are well accustomed to their THAI STREET LIFE in and all of their areas. Next they gonna kill Bangkapi area as well.  Might as well call it ChinaPore now.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

More authoritarian nonsense, the footpath congestion could have beeneasily solved by making it stalls one side only. The hold ups are where the stalls are on both sides of the pavement and people browsing hold up other pedestrians who are actually going somewhere. But this is just common sense, something lacking in any shape or form in LoS.