Sidewalks near Heroines’ Monument cleared of vendors for pedestrian safety

PHUKET: Shops obstructing the sidewalk along Srisoonthorn Road east of the Heroines’ Monument in Phuket have been cleared out in an effort to improve safety for pedestrians.

Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Srisoonthorn Mayor Worawut Songyos inspected the area yesterday after having ordered vendors on both sides of the road to remove their structures on Tuesday.

“We are enforcing an order from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to organize public space,” said Governor Maitri.

“Pedestrians had to walk in the street to avoid all the shops on the sidewalk. That is not safe. They were running the risk of being hit by motorists.”

Srisoonthorn Municipality will allow the vendors to return – to the north side of the street only – after registering at the municipality office.

“We will allow registered vendors to operate on the north side of Srisoonthorn Road between the hours of 7am and 10am, and 5pm to 9pm,” said Mr Worawut.

“However, their businesses must be mobile. Their shops may not be on the street outside of the designated hours.”

Officers will check periodically to make sure that the rules are being observed, he added.

“We will also set up a system for car parking and places for people to sit and eat during those times,” Mr Worawut explained.

“It will be much easier for people to find what they need, and they will not have to cross the dangerous road to reach shops on the other side.”

Mr Worawut added that once the vendor zone was successfully set up, he would improve the quality of food being sold by inspecting the food carts and administering “Clean Food, Good Taste” stickers to those that pass.

“The area will look much better and the food sold will be safe and clean,” he said.

Gov Maitri also mentioned the safety of motorists during the inspection.

“We will spend part of the 2015 fiscal budget to build a median on this section of Srisoonthorn Road to help prevent accidents. A lot of accidents have happened here lately,” he said.

Most recently, one teenager died and two were seriously injured after the motorbike they were driving slammed into a pick-up truck in February (story here).

— Saran Mitrarat