Decha Boonkham: National Artist, landscape architect, designer of Benjasiri Park and Suan Luang Rama IX
Why isn’t Bangkok a greener city?
Our city planning has been a failure for half a century, as we haven’t had a master plan. When Bangkok finally developed, the land prices were high so they had to build tall buildings to make a profit without thinking about the carbon footprint. It’s both our life and death. If we keep developing like this, all the real trees will disappear from the city.
What would it take to make Bangkok greener?
Bangkok’s remaining street trees are the ugliest on earth. They were both incorrectly chosen and badly planted. It doesn’t help that they have lots of enemies: pollution, electricity lines and drains. The BMA don’t take good care of them either. They need to employ proper tree surgeons to look after the trees rather than hire companies who just go in and chop off all their branches and leaves. I can guarantee that if the BMA started applying the right methods to our street trees, Bangkok would be a much greener city within five years. There are also tons of empty spaces that the government own, such as the Treasury Department, which could be made into parks. Ex-governor Bhichit Rattakul already showed that it can be done with the conversion of Suan Rod Fai.
Oraya Sutabutr: Big Tree Group
How can the Bangkok governor expand the green spaces in the city?
Bangkok has only about 3-4 sq. meters of green space per person, whereas the standard should be about 30 sq. meters per person. In terms of power and money, it’s pretty hard for the governor to create more green spaces in Bangkok but in terms of leadership, he can definitely make it happen. As land prices increase, he must act as a coordinator to negotiate with the private sector to develop more green spaces beside new properties. It’s clear the world over that green spaces boost land prices—just look at properties next to Central Park in New York, they’re some of the most expensive in the world.
Noppakun Dibakomuda: Head of the Smile Riders group and producer of the TV show Pan Hai Loke Plien (Ride to Change the World) on TPBS
Can Bangkok ever be a bicycle-friendly city?
The number of cyclists in Bangkok is on the up, but education about cycling in the city is still really low. We have a situation where more and more people are riding bikes on our roads, but motorists don’t really know how to deal with them, while some cyclists don’t even know how to ride correctly. The bicycle policy that is being implemented now is nothing but an illusion. Problems are being fixed in purely political ways; for instance, riders demand a bicycle lane and administrators respond by painting a color on the road and calling it a bicycle lane. This is totally wrong. What we need is well-planned traffic engineering so that we can efficiently blend bicycling with the city’s other forms of traffic. The only legitimate bike lane in this city is the one in Rattanakosin district, which is approved by the Thai Traffic Police. The rest are simply unlawful.
So, does the governor really matter?
Definitely, but he must be really determined to make things happen. He can be a big inspiration, like the Mayor of Bogota, Colombia, who devoted his time to improving bicycling conditions. As a bike rider himself, he was really invested in the situation, whereas our governor just jumps in and out of cars to get around. We don’t have to copy and paste cool policies—just let traffic engineers from all traffic departments sit down and plan out something that best suits our city. We must also educate people on the rights and safety of bicyclists. The next governor could start by introducing a bicycle course at all of Bangkok’s 400 schools. He could then start cycling to work once a week to set a good example for other people in the city. Being governor is more than a title—a real leader can bring true progress to the city.
Rotmaethai.com: We speak to the representatives of this volunteer public transport advocacy group specializing in bus transportation
How much power does the governor have to manage public transport in the city?
Being governor of the BMA is actually like being president of the student council. While he’s voted in by the students, all matters of policy and projects must be approved by the headmaster or principal—in this case, the government. Public transport is a massive headache because most of the power is out of the BMA’s hands: the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) is under the Ministry of Transport, the MRT is under the State Railway of Thailand and boats in canals like Sansaeb are under the Marine Department. The BTS is overseen by the BMA, but really this only applies to its extensions, such as the introduction of stations beyond On Nut on the Sukhumvit Line or Sapan Taksin on the Silom Line. Only the BRT is solely managed by the BMA. Problems between the government and the BMA always arise because of this lack of control. The BMA can’t control delayed government projects that affect the city, such as the purchase of 3,000 new buses for the BMTA which has been pushed back for years.
What do you make of the candidates’ policies on transportation?
It’s pretty hard to see a policy like free buses actually happening as it would need a huge budget. As the BMTA comes under the Ministry of Transport, the BMA must find the money to pay the BMTA, which is already in B70 billion of debt. So the question is, how does the BMA find this huge budget?
So, does the governor really matter?
They’re important, sure, but what we need is a leader with clear plans on how to improve the daily commute for people living in Bangkok’s outskirts coming into town. Regarding BTS extensions, it’s up to the government to approve the budget as all new routes are heading out of town, and beyond Bangkok’s administration. But the head of the BMA must still examine the project closely so that the city’s transport system flows efficiently. He must be the coordinator who brings everything together.
Pongkwan Lassus: Chairman of the Architectural Conservation Committee of the Association of Siamese Architecture
How important is the governor to conservation matters?
While the Fine Arts Department looks after conservation matters, the governor is still crucial to preserving old culture around town. Administrators don’t understand the importance of city planning, that’s why the Department of City Planning has a much smaller budget compared to the Public Works Department. But city planning plays a big part in conservation. Our culture is Bangkok’s biggest tourist attraction and brings untold amounts of money to the city, whereas public works is all about spending. The new city plan for Bangkok that’s going to be implemented in May does not include conservation. Some areas like Yaowarat have been placed in the Red Zone, which allows full access to development projects in the area, even though it is packed with 100-year-old buildings. The BMA could prevent such oversights by being stricter with their city planning, but as yet they haven’t been.
Sirinee Arunanond: Charoenchai Community, Yaowarat
What needs to be done to improve conservation in Bangkok?
I want the BMA to work more closely with communities, to find out their wants and needs, before they decide to do anything with the city. For instance, with the MRT coming to Yaowarat, many people stand to be affected. We tried negotiating with the BMA to keep the 100-year-old buildings in front of the Charoenchai community as the entrance to the MRT station but they refused. They said they will build a new entrance in the old architectural style, but, honestly, how can this compare to the original buildings? The new city plan is worrying us, too. With Yaowarat in the Red Zone, we don’t know which old buildings are going to be torn down in the future. Yaowarat is unique, with a history dating back to the early Rattanakosin era. 100% of Bangkok’s tourists come here and are drawn to its charm, but who will protect it?
Monthein Buntan: Senator and member of United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
What do you make of the candidates’ disability policies?
None of them have good visions for how to make Bangkok a disability-friendly city. The city planning and transport has never been designed to serve all people. Administrators just install whatever comes to mind without a master plan. Anyway, while the governor can’t change aspects of the city that are fully developed, he can improve things like footpaths and ensure they are clean and clear to best serve peoples’ needs.
What is the biggest challenge to developing Bangkok?
No one has the full power to develop this city. It ends up being all the different sectors carrying out what concerns them. Running Bangkok is a really big challenge as it is a big city with no city plan. This could change with the involvement of all sectors of society in matters of city management. The people must be put first and the governor must work closely with them. When the majority of society joins together and agrees that things should be developed a certain way, the government and politicians can’t stand in their way. It’s the power of the people.
What should be the blueprint for Bangkok’s future development?
Bangkok must be developed with the principals of universal design in mind. Administrators should stop trying to sell Bangkok as a shopping haven and focus on developing the city to sustainably serve all kinds of people, and I’m not just talking about the disabled. This kind of development would have wide-scale economic benefits for our country, as we could attract richer and older tourists. Tourists would pay well and stay longer if the city were designed to be more friendly for everyone. So many projects for the disabled are done without continuity. The government should build a system to serve people, not just make people adjust to poor facilities.
Ratchapol Kraijirachote: Owner of Center One Shopping Plaza and member of We Love Victory Monument Group
What’s happening at Victory Monument?
The public spaces around Victory Monument are being encroached upon by vendors and minivans. These spaces were meant as a garden and memorials to war veterans, but when Samak Sunthornvej was governor, the BMA gave concessions to private companies to rent the spaces claiming it would improve the landscape. But it turned out that the company just built stalls and sub-leased the spaces to vendors—now it’s a mess with beer parks and market stalls everywhere. The BMA has assigned only seven tessakit (municipal officers) to the area, so it’s hard for them to supervise it all.
What sort of change is your group pushing for?
When the contract neared completion last year, we tried to block its renewal. But the BMA’s Traffic and Transportation Department went ahead and renewed it, despite our objections. We are still trying to stop the company’s construction work by urging the BMA to halt the plan, but they said they would let the project finish first before seeing what can be changed. That’s absurd. Why wait when they can stop it easily now? When new vendors set up shop in the future, it’s only going to be harder to change.
Why should the BMA listen?
The BMA only gets about B4 million a year from this contract. This is small change compared to what we have lost. Some 400,000 people visit Victory Monument everyday—what about their convenience? If we let this mess grow, there will be no footpaths for pedestrians. And don’t even get me started about the number of vans parked all over Victory Monument, because this should be the responsibility of the Department of Land Transportation and police. We need effective space management to ensure Victory Monument looks its most beautiful.
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