Mayor under fire for park bridge project

PHUKET TOWN: About 20 members of the Rak Suan Luang Club (RSLC) today descended on Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok’s monthly press conference to protest the construction of a bridge in King Rama IX Park, better known as Suan Luang Park. Protest leaders handed Mayor Phummisak an official complaint to stop construction of a bridge over concerns that it will jeopardize the safety of visitors to the park. Protestors argued that the bridge, which will span a pond in the park, will effectively link main roads on either side of the park and will be used as a shortcut, and that speeding vehicles will endanger the safety of park users. RSLC representative Prajak Boontapiwat said, “Phuket Municipality must cancel construction of the bridge. The more vehicles that come into the park, the more chance there is of accidents. For the safety of all park users, the Municipality has to stop the project and return the 2-million-baht allocated budget to the central government.” Mayor Phummisak told protesters, “People’s safety doesn’t depend on the bridge being built. It depends on how the park is managed, such as strictly enforcing opening and closing times and not allowing people to drive through as a shortcut. They’re separate issues.” After discussing the matter for about an hour, both parties agreed to stage a public vote on the matter. A date has yet to be set.