All Roads and Sois to be Emptied of Street Vendors?

[mojaco]

I have lived in Thailand for 23 years, mostly Bangkok.  A few weeks ago my favorite (only) street "tailor" and street shoe repairman were moved off of Rama 1 road into a side soi.  Now they, along with the food vendors in the side soi have been forced to move 100 meters down into the soi.  I asked the tailor what is happening.  He said "Beginning January 1 all roads and sois will be emptied of all street vendors."  I asked him is this just Bangkok?  He replied "No, throughout Thailand".  He said all such vendors will have to rent space at approved market areas.

 

This is very sad in my personal opinion.  I understood (somewhat) the rationale to give more main street foot path for pedestrians in congested areas, but if what he said is true, there is no rationale for that other than wanting Thailand to become like Singapore or wanting to fully control "independent vendors" who might be inclined to disagree with the current government.

 

Do you think the January 1 deadline is true?

[Svadhistana]

I hope so

[al007]

If this is True  SAD  SAD  very SAD

 

Most of these people do not make fortunes, they live from day to day

 

They add color, they add some very good street food

 

They are doing their best to survive and pay their way

 

Sending them to the approved markets will be the end of many

 

I suggest those making these rules in their chaufeured limosines change places for a week, this is just SO SAD

[DoctorG]

Street vendors are the only thing that give BKK any character. I know they can make walking around difficult, but they add colour to an otherwise drab city.

[Kwasaki]

 Up north here by order of the army all street vendors were put in market place and shop fronts in our village were moved back 6 metres from the centre of the road over a year ago.

 

You can walk on the pavement now instead of in the road, there creeping back though. 

 

[AsiaCheese]

24 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Street vendors are the only thing that give BKK any character. I know they can make walking around difficult, but they add colour to an otherwise drab city.

 

I saw something like that happen in Singapore. In the mid-80s, the city was full with street vendors, interesting smells from a mix of cuisines and generally a fabulous atmosphere. Then came more and more malls, and in a concerted effort to make it a world-class/super-clean place, I saw most of it gone on a (much) later visit - and it felt sterile and wrong! BKK, please don't walk into the same trap...

[nunoyabiznez]

35 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Street vendors are the only thing that give BKK any character. I know they can make walking around difficult, but they add colour to an otherwise drab city.

 

They are a safety hazard, they create traffic problems in a city where traffic is probably the number one issue, they are all paying criminal gangs to 'rent' public space, they attract vermin, and one could call Bangkok many things, but 'drab' is not one of them, if anything this shambles is a blight more suited to Hogarth's London.

 

I agree that form a social justice perspective, most are doing what they can to get by, and their response should be to organise and petition for legitimate space just as stallholders do the world over, including other developed Asian nations.

[phantomfiddler]

On the other hand consider the businessman who has gone to great expense buying property on a street, only to have a street vendor appear and set up outside his shop and compete with him, facing overheads that are very close to zero ? Not really fair, is it ? Also the street vendors, after being in a location for a period of time, act as if they own their piece of street or sidewalk, often leaving piles of garbage to be cleaned up every day. Two sides to every story.

[retarius]

I hate these street vendors blocking up the pavement. It is disgusting. I do hope the cops stamp on them hard so they don'e come back ever. The signs are not good though, already in the areas cleared along Sumkumwit the vendors are starting to come back with their crappy tea shirts and so on, forcing you to walk on the road taking your life in your hands. 

[DSJPC]

very sad indeed!!!...I have lived in Thailand off and on since 1967 and street shops/vendoring are very much a part of Thailand's appeal!!!

[Gandtee]

I remember Pattaya when it had grass roofed salas along the beach. They tore them down and replaced them with hundreds of advertising plastic umbrellas. Tourists must have thought they were in Spain instead of the orient. Thailand seems intent on ridding the country of that which adds spice and what tourists come here to experience. I feel sure the people who make these draconian decisions never come out of their ivory towers or their limos to know what the real Thailand is like and how the unwashed masses struggle make a living. Perhaps when the 'Man in the Street' is elected he/she will have more sense and protect that which is important. 

[Bangkok Barry]

The idea that street vendors are poor is a fallacy. One, who (outside Bangkok) sells fried bananas by the road, has just given 3 million baht to a hospital. I know of one in northern Bangkok who owns three houses. Thais often save every satang they have instead of flying off to America or Europe for a holiday or making sure they have the latest car every year or the biggest tv, so they might appear to be poor but that isn't necessarily the case.

[Kabula]

Expect crime to accelerate from massive loss of small mom and pop Soi businesses throughout all of Thailand.

 

Most women over 40, can't get jobs because of their age and cook or sell fruit along the Sois.  With little to no money what can they do?

 

The cheap food in the Sois will disappear and the food in rented spaces will no doubt cost more.

 

Many Thais and foreign laborers can only afford the inexpensive Thai Soi cooking.

 

I hope demonstrations don't start with violence to follow like in Europe, the U.S. and other countries.

 

This news makes me very sad...

[TKDfella]

On another thread I wrote '.....could have the answer. As we know many of the street vendors have been removed and I read yesterday that similar action is to be taken on main roads/highways. Rightly or wrongly many saw these as attractions and part of the Thai character....'. So it isn't only going to affect Sois. It seems to me that there is a 'clean up' going on or is it that the present gov wants to see more restaurants? This will increase prices and could mean the end of a holiday where meals are cheap (...only for the well off?)

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, AsiaCheese said:

 

I saw something like that happen in Singapore. In the mid-80s, the city was full with street vendors, interesting smells from a mix of cuisines and generally a fabulous atmosphere. Then came more and more malls, and in a concerted effort to make it a world-class/super-clean place, I saw most of it gone on a (much) later visit - and it felt sterile and wrong! BKK, please don't walk into the same trap...

I think in some cases street vendors should be allowed, as long as no one is forced to walk on the road, ie lower Sukhumvit Road was a disaster until recently, I was in Bangkok last week, and what a difference being able to walk all the way down to Asoke since most of the vendors have been cleared off.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, retarius said:

I hate these street vendors blocking up the pavement. It is disgusting. I do hope the cops stamp on them hard so they don'e come back ever. The signs are not good though, already in the areas cleared along Sumkumwit the vendors are starting to come back with their crappy tea shirts and so on, forcing you to walk on the road taking your life in your hands. 

It was OK all through last week.

[nunoyabiznez]

1 hour ago, Kabula said:

Expect crime to accelerate from massive loss of small mom and pop Soi businesses throughout all of Thailand.

 

Most women over 40, can't get jobs because of their age and cook or sell fruit along the Sois.  With little to no money what can they do?

 

The cheap food in the Sois will disappear and the food in rented spaces will no doubt cost more.

 

Many Thais and foreign laborers can only afford the inexpensive Thai Soi cooking.

 

I hope demonstrations don't start with violence to follow like in Europe, the U.S. and other countries.

 

This news makes me very sad...

 

Cleaning up the sidewalks does not mean shutting down the market vendors, it means cleaning up the sidewalks!

 

Of course, many projects here are half-arsed, so they will move the vendors, but not create attractive designated areas for them to ply their trades legally and safely in a win-win scenario, TiT sadly.

[autoc]

3 hours ago, al007 said:

If this is True  SAD  SAD  very SAD

 

Most of these people do not make fortunes, they live from day to day

 

They add color, they add some very good street food

 

They are doing their best to survive and pay their way

 

Sending them to the approved markets will be the end of many

 

I suggest those making these rules in their chaufeured limosines change places for a week, this is just SO SAD

 

 

It's sad but you are so wrong about how much money they make...

 

 

[Deepinthailand]

Seems if it is to happen then it's only there. asked a few vendors I frequent up here in KK today on reading this post. Both said they knew nothing about it and we're posative it would not happen here. They did say with all the events ect going on in BKK with recent events it may be move for now whilst things there settle down.

[dogpatch55]

Sad  news!!  Hope  it  does not  happen!!

[kennw]

4 hours ago, al007 said:

If this is True  SAD  SAD  very SAD

 

Most of these people do not make fortunes, they live from day to day

 

They add color, they add some very good street food

 

They are doing their best to survive and pay their way

 

Sending them to the approved markets will be the end of many

 

I suggest those making these rules in their chaufeured limosines change places for a week, this is just SO SAD

 

I suggest you do some real research, many arrive at their chosen and claimed selling positions in new pick-ups, set up their tables etc, blocking traffic while they do. The real beneficiaries are the "controllers" . Come take a look at Sukhumvit Soi 4 and see how most pedestrians have to walk on the road because the footpath space is taken up. Try driving down the Soi and avoiding the walkers many pushing prams with babies. Made even worse because of the many motorbikes parked almost the length of the bar section, starts from the police box to 500 meters in. Oh and check how much the have to pay for the "site" they use! "Doing their best to survive" get real mate!    

[Thaidream]

The gentrification of Bangkok is underway but it is a huge mistake. Why go to Bangkok if it looks like New York or London. Already tourists are giving it a pass because there is nothing unusual about it. Street vendors give Bangkok a flavor that other cities do not have. The powers to be are killing the golden goose.

[nunoyabiznez]

53 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

The gentrification of Bangkok is underway but it is a huge mistake. Why go to Bangkok if it looks like New York or London. Already tourists are giving it a pass because there is nothing unusual about it. Street vendors give Bangkok a flavor that other cities do not have. The powers to be are killing the golden goose.

 Bangkok, even in the current climate, Ok maybe not THIS season, but for some recent time, is one of the most popular city tourist destinations in the world. Even I go there for breaks, and I live in the Kingdom.

 

It would be a bigger mistake, a disgrace in fact, if bangkok remained looking like a medieval village fair with all the money sloshing around in Thailand in 2016.

 

It may have 'character' but if you had to run one of the crappy stalls, or eat in the street for most of your working life, I'm sure you'd tire of the grime, heat noise, and filth, and there is no reason to think ordinary Thais are up for eating their dinner in the diesel fumes if they were given an affordable option to move into Singapore style food courts, still in the open air, but away from the dirt and chaos.

 

 

[fruitman]

I hope they also close all the vendors along the road, their selfish customers block the traffic and make it very dangerous.

 

Let them rent a place somewhere else, on a market or so.

[Grubster]

9 hours ago, Gandtee said:

I remember Pattaya when it had grass roofed salas along the beach. They tore them down and replaced them with hundreds of advertising plastic umbrellas. Tourists must have thought they were in Spain instead of the orient. Thailand seems intent on ridding the country of that which adds spice and what tourists come here to experience. I feel sure the people who make these draconian decisions never come out of their ivory towers or their limos to know what the real Thailand is like and how the unwashed masses struggle make a living. Perhaps when the 'Man in the Street' is elected he/she will have more sense and protect that which is important. 

Most of the tourists I have met in the US show a lot more pictures of street venders and their wares then of temples or other structures in Thailand. We can forget the cheap prices too, as they will be dictated by building owners if this does happen. Oh but we will be able to walk the sidewalks and look in the windows, just like back home. Why do so many want everything to be just like home?

[geriatrickid]

21 hours ago, al007 said:

If this is True  SAD  SAD  very SAD

Most of these people do not make fortunes, they live from day to day

They add color, they add some very good street food

They are doing their best to survive and pay their way

Sending them to the approved markets will be the end of many

I suggest those making these rules in their chaufeured limosines change places for a week, this is just SO SAD

 

The only elitist here is you. Do you work, or do you have a shop in the  affected  area? or are you one of thes epeople who has the luxury of  a pension and  can  just  loll about with all the time in the world? How many time sdoes it have to be explained to you why these black market merchants have to go?  I will give you the highlights;

 

1. Ingress/Egress: if there is a fire or an ambulance call, the congestion caused by these vendors impedes a rapid response. Wait until you drop with a stroke and  the ambulance can't get to you for 30 minutes and we can discuss again.

 

2. Unfair advantage: The shop keepers all pay taxes. The black marketeers do not. The vendors you idolize pay nothing for the municipal services they benefit from. It is unfair that the  shop operators pay taxes and these balck marketeers do not.

 

3. Corruption: The  black marketeers  pay bribes to locla officials to break the law. The only way to stop this is to get rid of the source of corruption. It's like a rat problem. Clean up the food source and the rats go away.

 

4. Pollution and  Health Hazard: The shopkeepers are a major source of illegal dumping of chemicals, of  trash and  of food leftovers. They cook in unclean conditions and they leave a mess behind.

 

5. Quality of life: The black marketeers take over public space that does not belong to them and force people into the road or to walk in  unsafe crowded manner. They hold everyone up.

 

For those of us who have somewhere to go and  appointments and things to do, goodbye and good riddance to this nuisance. They have bene given  appropriate merchant areas to peddle their garbage products. They can  go sell their Chinese junk that  falls apart after a few weeks in those locations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[geriatrickid]

10 hours ago, Grubster said:

Most of the tourists I have met in the US show a lot more pictures of street venders and their wares then of temples or other structures in Thailand. We can forget the cheap prices too, as they will be dictated by building owners if this does happen. Oh but we will be able to walk the sidewalks and look in the windows, just like back home. Why do so many want everything to be just like home?

 

Why do dso many elderly  westerners  insist that Thailand be held back and kept at 3rd world standards. Young Thaiis don't like dirty street vendors anymore than I do.  My friends who have been to Singapore  come back to Thailand feeling a bit embarrassed. If you want to live in a 3rd world setting, then yes, perhaps it is time to move to Laos or Cambodia or North Korea.

[Dexlowe]

3 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

Why do dso many elderly  westerners  insist that Thailand be held back and kept at 3rd world standards. Young Thaiis don't like dirty street vendors anymore than I do.  My friends who have been to Singapore  come back to Thailand feeling a bit embarrassed. If you want to live in a 3rd world setting, then yes, perhaps it is time to move to Laos or Cambodia or North Korea.

 

Exactly. Bangkok is now a major world metropolis. It's time it grew up. Most of the stalls sell cheap junk, and after seeing 10 t-shirt stalls along a 100 metre stretch all selling "Good guys got to heaven, bad guys go to Pattaya" wife beaters, it becomes pretty damnn boring, even to a tourist

 

geriatrickid's other post above sums it up well.

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, DoctorG said:

Street vendors are the only thing that give BKK any character. I know they can make walking around difficult, but they add colour to an otherwise drab city.

Trying to walk down Sukhumvit when the vendors were on both sides of the pavement was almost impossible.

That sort of "character" I can do without.

 

As for the food carts, without running water they are a health hazard.

 

Singapore solved the problem many years ago. They moved the food vendors into food courts beside the pavements, where they had washing facilities and hygienic food surfaces, but kept the character of street food.

Most of the junk stalls are not much cheaper than those in malls like MBK.

 

I certainly hope they do remove those hazards from main road pavements. I don't want to have to walk in the traffic so some stall selling tat can block the pavement.

 

[metisdead]

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