City Hall's controversial 1.7-billion-baht pedestrian bridge proposal linking Tha Phra Chan and Wang Lang was an old trick to waste taxpayers' money, a former senior City Hall official says.
The ex-senior official, who declined to be named, said a City Hall agency, implying the Department of Public Works (DPW) which touted the bridge project, has often used the same practice to seek a budget from City Hall without consideration as to whether the project was worth the investment and benefited the public.
After citing the significance of the project to persuade City Hall executives, the department would initially receive several million baht of a budget to conduct a feasibility study even though the project would ultimately not be approved.
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"Should City Hall wait for the Chao Phraya riverside promenade from Rama VII Bridge to Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge to be completed first before considering construction of the pedestrian bridge? This project has come out of the blue," the former official said.
The pedestrian bridge proposal has drawn a heavy backlash from the public after the project details were unveiled last week. The third public hearing into the proposal was also held at the Navy Club in Bangkok last Friday.
The bridge will connect Tha Phra Chan area in Phra Nakhon district to Siriraj Hospital in the Wang Lang area in Bangkok Noi district. The structure, 9 metres wide and 300 metres long, will have two levels with a height of 4 metres each.
The bridge project is not part of a City Hall master plan to develop riverside communities, but floated simply as a grab for budget funds, he said.
Any master plan should be based on residents' needs and local traffic infrastructure, he said. The bridge could also damage scenery along the river, and lessen the chance of Rattanakosin Island being declared a World Heritage Site, he added.
Ex-Bangkok deputy governor Samart Ratchapollasit said City Hall had to clarify if the project is worth the investment first. The agency had to consider the number of people using the bridge, environmental impacts and traffic flow, he added.
DPW director Nat Srisukonthanan on Tuesday defended the project, arguing the bridge was incorporated into the plan for the second phase of riverside communities along the river, stretching from Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge to Rama III Bridge.
He claimed the bridge would also link several projects in Bangkok including one connecting Rama VIII Bridge to Phran Nok and Phutthamonthon Sai 4 roads; the Chao Phraya riverside promenade project; and the Light Red and Orange Line (western route) electric railways.