Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, front left, avoids a fallen cyclist as he takes a trip through Koh Rattanakosin in inner Bangkok to mark the reopening of bike lanes after their recent repairs. (Photos by Pornprom Satrabhaya)
By Terry Fredrickson
Despite a near accident yesterday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is still keen on bike riding and is seeking talks with owners of buildings near the Rama VIII Bridge to ask for space to build bicycle lanes along the Chao Phraya River.
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PM to ask land owners for bike lane space
Wassana Nanuam
The situation is under control here as the PM leads the pack with Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra at his side (to his right and our left in the photo).
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is seeking talks with owners of buildings near the Rama VIII Bridge to ask for space to build bicycle lanes along the Chao Phraya River.
The premier plans to send staff to talk to the owners who include hotel and shop operators. He wants to push the government's plan to promote tourism and cycling by building paths and riverside gardens as new places for relaxation.
The government wants to use small parts of their compounds for the project. "We don't know whether they will agree with us because they have to make sacrifices," he said.
Gen Wilas Arunsri, secretary-general to the prime minister, said about seven kilometres of lanes near the Rama VIII Bridge on each side of the river will be built under the plan.
"Tourists want to cycle around Koh Rattanakosin (Rattanakosin Island)," Gen Wilas said. "Cycling lanes would make the area look more beautiful."
Yesterday at least, there were no cars blocking bicycle lanes which were also free of motorcycles.
Koh Rattanakosin, Bangkok's historical district, is famous for its old temples and palaces. It is surrounded by the Chao Phraya River along with a network of canals, giving it the name of "island".
City Hall recently finished repair work on its 12-lane cycle project covering a distance of eight kilometres in Rattanakosin Island to mark His Majesty the King's 87th birthday.
Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who joined Gen Prayut in riding on the path in the Rattanakosin Island area yesterday, said a major drawback to cycling in the city is not a lack of facilities but the motorists who insist on parking their cars on the lanes.
The premier said he would encourage drivers to respect cyclists' rights.
The cabinet has approved an Interior Ministry project to build 25km of bike lanes on each side of the river, according to sources at the Public Works and Town and Country Planning Department and City Hall.
Construction is estimated to cost 500-600 million baht for each kilometre of the lane, for a total of 30 billion baht.
"A section of bike lanes between the Phra Pinklao and Rama VIII bridges would be built first," a source said, adding the route would stretch about 5-7 kilometres along each side of the river.
Work on this section should start next year, the source said.
Vocabulary
approve: to give official permission - อนุมัต
avoid: to stay away from a place; to try to prevent something from happening - หลีกเลี่ยง
block: to stop someone/ something from moving through or along something else - ปิดกั้น, กีดขวาง
cabinet: the group of government ministers who make and approve government policy - คณะรัฐมนตรี
City Hall: a city government, in this case, the Bangkok city government - กรุงเทพมหานคร
compound: an area in which a group of buildings stands - บริเวณ
construction: the work of building or making something, especially buildings, bridges, etc. - การก่อสร้าง
drawback: a disadvantage or problem that makes something a less attractive idea - ข้อเสียเปรียบ, ข้อด้อย, อุปสรรค
encourage: to cause someone to want to do something - กระตุ้น ให้การสนับสนุน
estimate: to say what you think an amount or value is or will be, either by using available information or by guessing - คาดคะเน
facility: a building, equipment, etc., used for a particular purpose - โรงงาน, สถานบริการ, สิ่งก่อสร้าง, สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก
historical: about history; about events that really happened in the past - เกี่ยวข้องกับการศึกษาประวัติศาสตร์
insist on: to continue doing something even though other people think it is annoying or stupid - ดัน ขืนทำ, ฝืน
Interior Ministry: the Thai ministry with responsibility over the Royal Thai Police, local administrations, internal security, citizenship, disaster management, land management, issuing national identity cards and public works - กระทรวงมหาดไทย
lack of: when there is not enough of something - ขาด
mark: to show that something is happening or happened - เป็นเครืองแสดง เป็นการเริ่มต้น
network: a large system of connected parts, organisations, people, etc. - เครือข่าย
operator: a person or company that runs a business - ผู้ดำเนินกิจการทางธุรกิจ, ผู้ประกอบธุรกิจ
pack: a group of similar people or things, all the people who are behind the leaders in a race, competition, etc - กลุ่ม, หมู่, พวก,คณะ
palace: the official home of a king, queen, president, etc, a large impressive house - พระราชวัง, ตำหนัก, ปราสาท
project: a planned piece of work that is designed to find information about something, to produce something new, or to improve something - โครงการ
promote: to encourage or support something - สนับสนุน
public works: building projects such as schools, roads, and railways that are built and paid for by the government - การโยธาสาธารณะ, สิ่งก่อสร้าง (ถนนหนทาง,เขื่อนที่ทำการไปรษณีย์และอื่น ๆ) ที่เป็นสาธารณูปโภค
relaxation: ways of resting and enjoying yourself; time spent resting and enjoying yourself - การผ่อนคลาย,ความหย่อน,การพักผ่อน
repairs: fixing something that is broken or damaged - การซ่อมบำรุง
respect: to accept the importance of someone's rights or customs - เคารพ
rights: the basic rights which it is generally considered all people should have, such as justice and the freedom to say what you think - สิทธิ
route: the roads used to go from one place to another - เส้นทาง
sacrifice: important or valuable things given up, so that you or other people can have or do something else - ความเสียสละเพื่อส่วนรวม
secretary-general: the person who is in charge of the department that deals with the running of a large international or political organisation - เลขาธิการ, เลขาธิการใหญ่
section: any of the parts into which something is divided - ส่วน
source: someone who gives information - แหล่งข่าว
staff: all the workers employed by a person or organisation considered as a group - คณะผู้ทำงาน, คนงาน
stretch: to spread over an area of land - ยืดออก
surrounded: having something,people, etc. completely around all sides - ถูกล้อมรอบ
