BMA bans all street food across Bangkok this year

[fforest1]

1 minute ago, SoilSpoil said:

Illegal food vendors force my children to walk over the main road. They are blocking the pavement frying their chicken in rancid oils and distinct smells. Its about time to give the city back to its residents.

My friend pack your bags and move to Singapore right away

the lifeless sterile paradise you dream of awaits you there...

[binjalin]

14 minutes ago, Prbkk said:

Yes, it's a selective measure: touts for restaurants, tailors, "personal services" will remain unaffected; so too, presumably, the structures actually BUILT on footpaths by building owners/occupiers ( including seating/garden beds/fish ponds etc), the permanent occupation by motorcycles, car parking and a host of other impediments to pedestrian movement. 

They will continue to try to make token "improvements" so long as there is no impact on hiso income. In respect of the streets and footpaths, the Bangkok "elite" will continue to do as they please, with impunity.

Indeed exactly and it is also a sign of the Junta's belief in their total POWER. Songkran restrictions, street vendors, bar closing times and all the rest. Of course there should be some control otherwise we might all be walking on the roads as the pathways are full but part of the culture of Thailand is being eroded as a demonstration of power and it is ALWAYS the poor whilst the rich jet off after killing someone attending F1 parties etc. Hasten the day.

[irwinfc]

this sounds like another "passengers on pickups". thailand on the verge of being a hub of U-turns.

[Mickmouse1]

Brains r Working again.

Creating Unemployment. 

Depriving thousands of families of income.

Depriving 80% of the working population of their easy to get meals,nay of whom are living in 1 room with no cooking facilities except microwave oven.

It is one of BKK ATTRACTION for Tourists.

Why not conduct courses and spend some real efforts in regulating/organising the trade.

Health and Hygiene courses regular inspections to ensure health & safety.

NEXT BIG 1 ON PAPER BUT NOT ANNOUNCED IS.....beautifying the riverside.  I won't be able to elaborate as it is an inside info that will be released 2018/19 which will cause enormous headache to any brave gov?

[jonclark]

14 minutes ago, SoilSpoil said:

Illegal food vendors force my children to walk over the main road. They are blocking the pavement frying their chicken in rancid oils and distinct smells. Its about time to give the city back to its residents.

Are the food vendors and their many many customers not residents of the city also? 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

The junta is not accountable to voters and can try to do stupid things. As soon as there is an elected govrnment again these vendors will return. No political party or person can p.... on the poor and think they can win an election. How did a well known Thai once said when people complained about rising seafood prices "eat chicken if seafood is too expensive". Reminds me of someone else that once said let them eat cake.

[IMA_FARANG]

That's crap.

All that will happen is that they will put a few chairs and tables out on the street and sell the food inside the shop for customers who will sit outside at the tables and eat.

That's the Thai solution, the Thai public will do what they want and the government can talk all it wants.

The best food in Bangkok is NOT found in the fancy restaurants for tourists it is in the street stalls.

Ask any well dressed bank worker were he or she has lunch on Sukhumvit Road or Silom Road, and it won't be a fancy restaurant, it will be a street vendor's cart near their workplace.

 

 

[jonclark]

5 minutes ago, Mickmouse1 said:

Brains r Working again.

Creating Unemployment. 

Depriving thousands of families of income.

Depriving 80% of the working population of their easy to get meals,nay of whom are living in 1 room with no cooking facilities except microwave oven.

It is one of BKK ATTRACTION for Tourists.

Why not conduct courses and spend some real efforts in regulating/organising the trade.

Health and Hygiene courses regular inspections to ensure health & safety.

NEXT BIG 1 ON PAPER BUT NOT ANNOUNCED IS.....beautifying the riverside.  I won't be able to elaborate as it is an inside info that will be released 2018/19 which will cause enormous headache to any brave gov?

It seems as if Bangkok is following the London model of gentrification. Which has seen historial working class areas lile Hackney and Shoreditch beutified and redesigned. Driving up house prices and rents making it unaffordable for the locals. 

 

Is Bangkok going to become the hipster hub of the East. Thai men sporting lumberjack shirts and beards while drinking deconstruted coffee??? 

[darksidedog]

I can think of little more the Government could do to rip the heart and soul out of the city. Millions of people rely on these places for quick and cheap food.

Regulate it, and hold health inspections by all means, but removing it entirely is a really dumb decision. I hope they find the common sense to reverse this.

[brewsterbudgen]

My friend pack your bags and move to Singapore right away
the lifeless sterile paradise you dream of awaits you there...

Maybe better to stay put and see if the BMA's action improves where he lives now! Anyone would think that no food will be available in Bangkok if this happens. Legal street food vendors, where their stall does not encroach on the footpath will still be able to trade.

[mommysboy]

I'm not sure what constitutes a street vendor.  Does it mean all food not presented within a fixed building?  Some of the stalls at night outside shops but not encroaching on pavements provide cheap food and actually bring a place to life.  If they are talking about vendors that just plonk themselves down on a pavement, or at the junction of a road, then I suppose there is a strong case.  But it will erode the charm of Bangkok.  And I would say the special market areas such as Khao San are the last place they should start. So what's the final vision: Khao San Road behind closed doors like any boring western high street? 

 

I visited the area in Pratunam that was formerly a street market, and all the charm was gone.  Pratunam is a market area.  If you do away with its visible allure, it ceases to be the same place. 

 

There is room for compromise, but not in Bangkok I guess.  At least places outside Bangkok will benefit. I imagine even more travellers won't spend a minute longer than they have to in Bangkok. 

 

 

[BuckBee]

the way it going the pavements will be completely empty , no stalls no tourists no people no money !

total madness, improving and controlling it would be wise answer but these big brash changes basically damage the thailand package .

[mommysboy]

5 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

Maybe better to stay put and see if the BMA's action improves where he lives now! Anyone would think that no food will be available in Bangkok if this happens. Legal street food vendors, where their stall does not encroach on the footpath will still be able to trade.

I hope you are right.  But it's a dangerous thing to assume common sense applies where the Junta is concerned.

[Toshiba66]

The article does say "All Street Food Vendors". I think someone is poking the sleeping bear. If your in the 12 - 15k baht a month income bracket like so many people in Bangkok your life will be severely effected. Many Thai's have less than 200 baht a day for food and lets not forget that many of the apartments they live in have "no cooking allowed" rules in place.  Taking away all street food would be a mistake.

Edited April 18, 2017 by Toshiba66

[Destiny1990]

A complex issue.

street food has its charm but than again they do block pavements with chairs tables etc etc.

[Toshiba66]

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

A complex issue.

street food has its charm but than again they do block pavements with chairs tables etc etc.

I agree. However the areas I eat street food at is Soi 38 Thonglor and Soi 37 Prom Pong. The setups there are not on any footpath. There certainly needs to be some regulating but total removal is madness.

[JSixpack]

3 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

“The street vendors have seized the pavement space for too long and we already provide them with space to sell food and other products legally in the market, so there will be no let-up in this operation. Every street vendor will have to move out,” he said.

 

Looks like it ain't just food stalls they're wanting to shutting down.

 

I must say that walking (actually walking, not slowly shuffling thru the gauntlet) on Sukhumvit from about Soi 7 to Nana is SO much pleasanter now that that the sidewalk vendors have been cleared out.

[TheGhostWithin]

They did this about 10 years ago in Penang, killing some amazing street food in Lebuh Chulia and Lerong Kinta. Ir single handedly was the reason I stopped visiting Penang.

 

They did this 2 years ago in Lat Krabang. Prices went up, and we had to walk 20 minutes to get to the new market (the old market, with the same shops used to be across the road).

 

The street sellers put their money together and bought the parking space beside the foot path and came back.

 

It is just an exercise to take even more from those in a position to put up the least resistance. Corruption flows along the path of least resistance dictated by the laws of the land.

 

Focus on key pedestrian areas where these operators are blocking footpaths (absolutely Yaowarat in the evenings among others) and protect pedestrian right of way but do not chop off another finger from the hand that feeds among nd expect tourists to continue to come and buy it. Food markets are a Thai tradition, and a tourist's must do.

[dinsdale]

Let's get rid of all things that makes Thailand, Thailand. These idiots can't see past their nose. Google street food Thailand. 5,990,000 results. Surely street food is an integral part of the charm of BKK. 

[JAG]

What about the millions of rats that rely on street vendors

Brown ones?

[oldcarguy]

there is a place that they "cleaned up" and stopped street selling ,

 

so no more food that was there forever......

 

What to do......????

 

They found a small place off the pavement to cook , parked a bunch of Motorbikes on the street where the tables were before , and mounted small tables to the seats of the motorbikes :)

 

Now you have a place to eat , and its "legal"

 

I hate to think of all the other areas of BKK that I like to walk around that will also be "cleaned up" soon ,

making   'Hunting" for interesting things  much harder since you are not going to walk into 50 small shops but would inspect what they were selling as you walked down the street......

 

All in the name of Progress

[moon47]

People come to Thailand to shop and eat on the street.

 

If we wanted wide barren walkways with only indoor and overpriced shops we would stay at home.

 

Thailand = missing the point.

 

How about provide the street shops with proper equipment, facilities and rules regarding the footprint and where they can/cannot set up.

 

Oh wait that would require planning and work, I almost forgot where I was with all these "Clean" streets... =0

 

Lets just provide an oversimplified solution that puts people out of work and reduces the countries natural appeal, that would be easier... =[

[chado]

They clearly have  too tmany tourists who love Thailand. It's time to get rid of them by banning street food.

[baboon]

51 minutes ago, mommysboy said:

I'm not sure what constitutes a street vendor.  Does it mean all food not presented within a fixed building?  Some of the stalls at night outside shops but not encroaching on pavements provide cheap food and actually bring a place to life.  If they are talking about vendors that just plonk themselves down on a pavement, or at the junction of a road, then I suppose there is a strong case.  But it will erode the charm of Bangkok.  And I would say the special market areas such as Khao San are the last place they should start. So what's the final vision: Khao San Road behind closed doors like any boring western high street? 

 

I visited the area in Pratunam that was formerly a street market, and all the charm was gone.  Pratunam is a market area.  If you do away with its visible allure, it ceases to be the same place. 

 

There is room for compromise, but not in Bangkok I guess.  At least places outside Bangkok will benefit. I imagine even more travellers won't spend a minute longer than they have to in Bangkok. 

 

 

My thoughts exactly. Why would you stay in Bangkok if it is a carbon copy of the place you have just flown 12 hours to get away from?

Edited April 18, 2017 by baboon

[mtls2005]

Singapore successfully transitioned from street carts to food courts ages ago. I know people lament the "structure" and "loss of character", but food courts are a brilliant solution for everyone: purveyors, customers.

 

 

[Destiny1990]

27 minutes ago, TheGhostWithin said:

They did this about 10 years ago in Penang, killing some amazing street food in Lebuh Chulia and Lerong Kinta. Ir single handedly was the reason I stopped visiting Penang.

 

They did this 2 years ago in Lat Krabang. Prices went up, and we had to walk 20 minutes to get to the new market (the old market, with the same shops used to be across the road).

 

The street sellers put their money together and bought the parking space beside the foot path and came back.

 

It is just an exercise to take even more from those in a position to put up the least resistance. Corruption flows along the path of least resistance dictated by the laws of the land.

 

Focus on key pedestrian areas where these operators are blocking footpaths (absolutely Yaowarat in the evenings among others) and protect pedestrian right of way but do not chop off another finger from the hand that feeds among nd expect tourists to continue to come and buy it. Food markets are a Thai tradition, and a tourist's must do.

What is there to like about Penang street food?seems its always the same they take any food and fry it in the oil Penang dinner is ready.even healthy bananas they fry it in the greasy oil!

[JAG]

The article does say "All Street Food Vendors". I think someone is poking the sleeping bear. If your in the 12 - 15k baht a month income bracket like so many people in Bangkok your life will be severely effected. Many Thai's have less than 200 baht a day for food and lets not forget that many of the apartments they live in have "no cooking allowed" rules in place.  Taking away all street food would be a mistake.

Yes but-
1:This government, or more precisely the people they serve, do not eat street food.
They do however own the franchise rights for various chains of convenience stores which will benefit tremendously.

2: For many Falangs the "bimble time" from Napa to Cowboy will be reduced.

Win win?

[MobileContent]

Looks to me they want to get rid of the people of Isaan to send them back upcountry. Most street vendors I know are from isaan and if their are no opportunity for them they will have to return back to the provinces.

[comeondoit]

3 minutes ago, oldcarguy said:

there is a place that they "cleaned up" and stopped street selling ,

 

so no more food that was there forever......

 

What to do......????

 

They found a small place off the pavement to cook , parked a bunch of Motorbikes on the street where the tables were before , and mounted small tables to the seats of the motorbikes :)

 

Now you have a place to eat , and its "legal"

 

I hate to think of all the other areas of BKK that I like to walk around that will also be "cleaned up" soon ,

making   'Hunting" for interesting things  much harder since you are not going to walk into 50 small shops but would inspect what they were selling as you walked down the street......

 

All in the name of Progress

This again is one of the typical green table decisions of people with the power and money ( there have been numerous examples recently, e.g. the beaches, the pick up carrying passengers, a tourist minister saying to ban the sex industry and so on ) , who never are eating street food and once more again they are empting the bath including the child in it. Why they cannot do something by just fighting the abuses, giving some rules and enforcing these rules? That is pure dictatorship, the bad results of losing the job is not hitting those well paid people.....I am sorry for Thailand, they slowly dismantle the country from things which are unique and may tourists are coming for

[chado]

I think they should do it, the more horrible -- the better. they'll see the consequences of their regulations pretty soon -- decline of tourists, more poverty and .... cheaper prostitutes as a result.