One of Bangkok’s oldest street vendor sites at Tha Phra Chan pier and on Phra Chan road in front of Thammasat University will soon be gone as City Hall has given the merchants until Sept 27 to relocate.
The move is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s policy to clear pavements in the capital and keep them in order.
Wanlop Suwandee, chief adviser to the Bangkok governor, said BMA executives, city police and soldiers had a meeting with 111 vendors operating on Phra Chan Road on Thursday to discuss the reorganisation of public footpaths as well as ask for their cooperation.
The BMA has received many complaints from the public that the vendors’ goods displays intruded onto walkways, and pedestrians, including foreign tourists, were forced to walk on the road. This posed a danger and partly contributed to traffic problems in the area.
The road runs alongside Thammasat University, starting from its entrance near Tha Phra Chan pier to Sanam Luang (the Royal Field).
The reorganisation aimed to return the pavement to pedestrians and increase convenience for commuters using Tha Phra Chan pier and nearby Tha Chang pier.
Mr Wanlop claimed the vendors were cooperative at the meeting.
“Authorities have provided new sales spaces for the vendors at Rama II Market and in Ayutthaya’s Bang Sai district to ease their grievances. The rental fee for each stall costs only 50 baht a day.”
Street vendors on Phra Chan road have long been a part of the neighbourhood. The area is perhaps one of the oldest street vending sites in Bangkok and is home to a famous amulet market.
Mr Wanlop said City Hall would meet with 334 vendors along Maha Rat Road next week. The riverfront road begins at Thammasat University and passes Tha Chang and Tha Tian piers before it ends at Pak Khlong Talat (Flower Market).
“The nearby Tha Chang and Tha Tian piers plus Bang Lamphu, Din Daeng and Huai Khwang areas will be our next target [of public pavement reorganisation],” the city governor’s chief adviser added.