Who comes up with this nonsense?

[Gaybutton]

The latest two:
1. No more riders in the backs of pickup trucks
2. Clear the food vendors from the streets of Bangkok

Both have been a part of not only Bangkok, but all of Thailand for many decades. Now all of a sudden somebody in a position of power decides that we can't have this anymore. Despite disrupting the lives of tens of thousands, some jerk gets to decide these things for everybody else and lay down the law according to his personal whim.

These geniuses have already ruined the beaches of Phuket and Pattaya. Now it's pickup trucks and food vendors.

Don't you just love it when a few schmucks get themselves into power and then create problems where none had ever existed before - disrupting people's businesses and lives in the process - and making whatever situation they sought to improve, far worse than it ever was in the first place?

There has been so much protest about banning riders in the backs of pickup trucks that now the police are "delaying" enforcement. That is likely to mean that policy may well never be enforced at all.

But the food vendors - that's still up in the air. Besides a few fools who somehow managed to get themselves into powers-that-be positions, who else wants the food vendors removed?

I can kinda-sorta see forbidding new food vendors from coming in, but I can't see forcing existing food vendors, many of whom have been operating in the same spot for decades, to suddenly be told they can't operate there anymore.

Another item on my "I Don't Get It" list.
__________________________________________________

Food vendors fearful amid BMA move to sweep them away

April 19, 2017

By The Nation, AFP

Thousands of food vendors are fearful about their future after officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) declared their intention to clear them off streets for the sake of cleanliness.

For three decades everyone from police and builders, to street cleaners and partying rich kids have gorged on noodles at Uncle Pan’s street-side stall in Bangkok’s chic-est neighbourhood.

But now the 67-year-old food vendor is no longer welcome at his pavement spot, amid a purge of food stalls by the city governor, who says they clutter up the capital’s curbs. With dishes that average Bt35-55 a plate, most of the city’s kerbside cooks don’t make a fortune selling their fare, which ranges from grilled seafood skewers to somtam.

But they have won global acclaim as some of the finest fast food chefs in the world, fueling a booming city besotted by eating.

Like his peers, Pan Chaiyasit works behind a small pushcart from where he dishes out yellow egg noodles, topped with pork and wanton dumplings, to customers who sit together on plastic chairs spread across the pavement.

The family-run stall is a fixture of a neighbourhood that has exploded with development over the past few decades. But with the deadline to clear off the street expiring this week, Pan must either uproot his restaurant to a new locale or downsize so it doesn’t spill onto the sidewalk.

“I’ve been selling here since there was nothing,” the genial, apron-wearing uncle told AFP, explaining that the Thong Lor area was a tree-studded backwater when he first set up.

Today, his customers sit ringside to a central artery of Bangkok’s ritziest neighbourhood, lined with tower blocks, upscale restaurants and nightclubs. That makes for a varied clientele that pulls from all layers of the social fabric.

“Office workers, police, soldiers... even if they drive a Mercedes-Benz, they have the same right to eat here,” Pan said, wiping away a bead of sweat as waiters buzzed around him to serve an after-work crush.

Good business, which sees Pan rake in around Bt30,000 a month, rests on these close ties to the neighbourhood.

“We all know each other in this street. Everyone, factory workers, company staff, they know me and we are friends... if we move, we won’t have these relationships.”

Yet city officials insist the footpaths must be “returned to the public” and have laid out a plan to bar tens of thousands of street stalls from main roads, instead squeezing them into side-streets or hawkers’ centres.

Wanlop Suwandee, the Bangkok governor’s chief adviser, said local residents wanted to reclaim their pavements, so the BMA had to undertake a tough task to do just that.

“After the successful mission [to reclaim] several areas such as Siam Square and Pratunam, the BMA will manage the area in Bang Lamphu, as the next target,” Wanlop said.

“For areas that have already been managed, there will be strict law enforcement to prevent illegal vendors from returning to those areas. And if anyone finds illegal vendors, they can contact BMA officers to deal with |immediately.”

He said this operation stemmed from many complaints sent to the BMA from local people, who were inconvenienced by being unable to walk on pavements occupied by street vendors. So, the city’s administrators had to take action and get street vendors to move into markets, where space was provided for them.

“City Hall used to allow these street vendors to legally sell [food] on the street in the specific areas, but since the city is growing, these areas where street vendors were allowed have to be revoked – to return the space because of the increased urban population,” he said.

However, workers such as Pan, whose lives look set to be greatly affected, are not sure what the future holds – other than more bowls of soup.

“Even though we sometimes face troubles we have to keep selling. We have to fight to survive,” he said.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30312637

[Undaunted]

On a related topic this was posted on S.G.T. ...... actually makes some sense!


Re: Bangkok eliminating all street food vendors

"Also, like it or not Thailand is developing at quite a fast pace and as countries develop they tend to follow certain patterns. Anyone know of any unlicensed street food vendors in London, New York or Paris? No, that's because it's no longer allowed. There used to be hundreds. Thailand is following that well worn path. From police carrying out more drink driving breath tests to the tightening up of beach concessions and the installing of more traffic lights Thailand is aping the west. Oh shit."

[Gaybutton]

actually makes some sense!

I can see inspecting them to make sure they're sanitary and their food is fit to eat, but doing that is the city's task. I think it's wrong to just force them out.

Quality of the food doesn't seem to even be a factor in this decision. According to the article I posted, along with similar articles I've seen, the reason they want to force them out is simply to clear the sidewalks.

By the way, when quoting a post from other boards, please include its specific URL in case people want to be able to easily find and read the entire post.

[mahjongguy]

Of all the world's capitals, Bangkok is one of the least pedestrian-friendly.

I lived in Silom for three years. Mostly I was bothered by the total lack of controlled crosswalks, but worse was having to walk out in the traffic because the sidewalks had been stolen by vendors.

Finding itself unable to get the vendors and their protectors to act reasonably, this government feels the only solution is a total reset, area by area.

[Oliver]

Gentrification and social cleansing.

[mahjongguy]

"Gentrification...."

Gentrification is a complex topic with plenty of room for opposing views. Definitely worthy of discussion. But what argument can be made against keeping the sidewalks passable on major streets?

"... and social cleansing."

Now that's nonsense.

[Undaunted]

what argument can be made against keeping the sidewalks passable on major streets?

Those sidewalk vendors are not the present government's constituency.

[Gaybutton]

what argument can be made against keeping the sidewalks passable on major streets?

In my opinion it would depend on how long those sidewalks have been impassible. If it is something that has happened fairly recently, then I would agree that the complaint is legitimate.

However, if we're talking about impassible sidewalks that have been that way as a result of the presence of vendors, and it has been many years, even decades, then I'd say complaining about it now lost its legitimacy a long time ago.

[firecat69]

Anyone who roots for the government's success in this endeavor, will next find they will eliminate all GoGo Bars and Massage Parlors. Then there will be no reason to visit or live in BKK.

[Up2u]

And from the Guardian.....
The best street food on the planet, but Bangkok bans its roadside stalls
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... ide-stalls