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The “Art of Walking” in Chiangmai

Let me start by saying that the following composition is not a complaint or condemnation of

sidewalks in Chiangmai, my new home, but rather some observations of a particular existing condition(s) that one encounters as a pedestrian. Let me be clear, I love Chiangmai and oddly enough, what I have observed is part of what leads to the charm of the City for me personally. I have merely written this in hopes that perhaps one day the City will at some point pay more attention to improving the pedestrian experience to the degree possible and as deemed feasible as it has to the vehicular traffic concerns.

First, a brief personal background. I'm a retired landscape architect who has recently moved

to Chiangmai for retirement. I practiced landscape architecture for a little over 40 years in the United States, primarily in the Buffalo, New York area. Part of my practice involved design of streetscapes ... providing design improvements to pavement  treatments, adding trees, site furniture, etc. to the area between the street curb and property line or face of building. As a landscape architect, we are charged with designing an environment that looks out for the health, safety and welfare of the user of the space being designed. Further, as part of the design process, I had to adhere to numerous, albeit sometimes onerous, codes and regulations, as stipulated by both local municipality, state and federal laws. I've been here for 4 months now, and so far I have not purchased a motorbike or car so I find myself walking just about everywhere I go, up to at times 2-3 mile (3-5km) distances. Consequently, I have found, by comparison to my western experience, that walking here takes on a certain "art form". One encounters  horizontal and vertical obstacles in the form of pavement cracks, various curb heights, low hanging wires/tree branches, canopy supports, sinking manhole covers to the storm/sanitary  sewer below (not to mention at times exposure to certain unpleasant odors), utility poles, permanent and temporary signage, moving and parked motorbikes, tables and chairs, tree stumps, dog poop, and of course, other pedestrians who are also gingerly negotiating the sidewalk. Then there is the occasional pile of leaves, branches left behind by tree trimming crews until another crew picks them up days later. So walking involves the frequent head bobbing, weaving and ducking, frequently looking down and then up and then down again, and some fancy footwork negotiating whatever the pavement condition offers in the way of a challenge with every step taken. At nigh time, it’s even worse given the lack of proper street lighting or the light being blocked by parked tour buses, etc.

I am under no disillusionment that perhaps the average Thai person is most likely blithely

unaware of these  impediments or is much bothered by them for that matter, in that as I suspect, its part of their inherited culture. Plus, it seems that they don't walk as much. Like the Americans and their great love affair with the automobile, the Thais have a "thing" for motorbikes. It's used for everything imaginable ... conveyance for one, two or three people, carrying fruits and vegetables stacked high to or from the market, etc. and for the most part, ridden without a helmet.

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And the word "culture" is perhaps one of the reasons why sidewalk conditions are as they are

at the moment. The "mai pen rai" (no worries) culture is rudimentary here. It's widely known that Thai people are, for the most part, non-confrontational. Consequently, why would anyone complain about sidewalk conditions. They are what they are, just deal with it, accept it and keep on moving. The absence of "curb cuts" to facilitate wheelchair traffic? ... again, one needs to look at the culture here. My observations have led me to believe, at least so far, that I don't see people in wheelchairs on the street by  themselves hardly at all because perhaps there's not a lot of wheelchairs available to those who need them to begin with and that the strong family culture here provides the support the elderly and/or those in need of assistance need as a matter of course. This is very evident by what I have observed on my visits to the hospital. I have yet to see an older Thai patient there by themselves ... especially an elderly person. 

Finally, the other cultural aspect that comes to mind is the age of the city. Chiangmai was

built in the year 1296 under the guidance of King Mengrai. That is a full 480 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. With the exception of St. Augustine, Florida (noted as the oldest city in America, 1565), most cities on the east coast weren't established until the early 1600's. On the west coast, the oldest cities are barely 300  years old. Like many of these older American cities, there are many narrow roads or lanes (Soi) here and many of them have no sidewalks at all due to the narrowness of the road/lane right-of-way. Many of the Soi seem hardly wide enough for one-way traffic much less two-way traffic plus motorbikes and pedestrians!

So with these thoughts in mind, I offer the following with the hopes that perhaps in key areas

of the city that some pilot projects might be undertaken to improve, at least in part, the sidewalk conditions, being ever mindful of the cultural aspects as well. 

First, some of the existing conditions (The Good, Bad & the Ugly);

Most  of these photos

were taken in my neighborhood where I f r e q u e n t l y w a l k (negotiate) my way to the laundry, grocery store, gym, etc. Others were taken around the moat area, west and south sides.

Typical scene ... tuk-

tuk drivers playing checkers on the walk, just beyond is a street

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vendor selling hot food on a daily basis ... nothing objectionable of course, just objects to be negotiated along the way.

!!!

Walkway is clean but

note the "toe-stubbers" offered by the manhole covers. More often than not, the concrete covers are either above or below grade and tilted, rarey level with the adjacent pavement.

!

!Narrow width, lots of vertical

elements & note the ground surface.

!!!!!!!!!!!

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!!!!!More of the same, ground surface

even worse & problematic.

!!!!!!!!!!

!

!Note the curb ... typically

curbs measure from 2" to 12-14" in height (yes i actually measured them). Rarely do you see, what we would call back in the States, "curb cuts" to f ac i l i t a t e pedes t r i an traffic, particularly for t ho se w i t h phy s i ca l impairments.

!

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Ok, this in my opinion is a

good  streetscape, all things considered ... at least it is clean, no impediments, trees outside walking area , two people can easily/safely walk s ide-by-s ide. Not always possible but here they made it happen as part of the adjacent building improvements (The Chedi Hotel, now Anantara).

!!!!More examples of both

v e r t i c a l & s u r f a c e impediments, above & below. Imagine this at night time with poor street lighting. 

!!!!!!!!!!

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!!!I assume the square at the

bottom of the photo is where a tree used to be ... it seems a common practice to use the "Z" precast concrete unit paver to fill in the holes rather then try to match the existing surface condition (in this case tiles over concrete). P e r h a p s e v e n m o r e in teres t ing i s how the concrete power pole is creeping into the travel lane … presumably the street was widened bu t the po le remained in place.

Here is another example of

something Good & what I assume was done by the adjacent business, The River

Market ... giving a way to access the "Iron Bridge" without having to negotiate vehicular traffic ... of course u s ing the wa lkway i s optional. Notice the "almost a curb cut" on the right.  It’s also quite common (on a d a i l y b a s i s ) t o s e e motorbikes on the bridge go ing the wrong way against the one-way flow.

!!!

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!!A typical Soi (Lane) ...

yes, this is for two-way traffic! It’s not unusual to be within an inch of side-view mirrors for cars and motorbikes passing each other.

!!!

!A seemingly easy fix here

... is it lack of priority? money? waiting for the f u t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t planned for the other side o f t he f ence be fo re resolving?

!!!!!!!!!!!!

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!!Imagine this at night time ... as one

can see, further up, the pedestrian is forced out into the street as part of the walking experience. Note the b roken /heaved pavement in foreground and barbed-wire fence to the right.

!!!!!!!

!!Lack of regulation? Aside from the

typical surface & vertical issues, why is parking on the walkway allowed? Since this original writing I’ve learned that the police are not particularly good at regulation, issuing tickets etc. and that graft/corruption is rampant.

!!!!!!

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!Another example of sur face

condition ... is there another way to have approached a solution here? There is, but I suspect it would have cost more to have regraded the adjacent property to allow for an on-grade walkway. This solution is easier and I have seen several examples of this all over the city.

!!!!!!

!Aside from the surface conditions

p r o v i d i n g s e v e r a l v e r t i c a l imped imen t s , was i t r ea l l y necessary for the public telephone to be located here? Does anyone still use these other than the occasional superhero?

!!!!!!!

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!!!Another example of parking

being allowed on what should be "public" access ... notice the low hanging sign above.

!!!!!!!!

As if the tree wasn't enough of an

obstacle on its own, it's not unusual to see temporary signs erected & attached to the trees that further restrict & sometimes fully block access.

!!!!!!!!!

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!I'm thinking conditions like this

can be improved upon by r e m o v i n g s o m e o f t h e unnecessary impediments.

!!!!!!!!!!

!This photo I think

speaks for itself.

!!!!!!!!!!

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!The reason for the drainage

channe l s i s obv ious bu t couldn't they be covered with a grate?

!!!!!!!!

!!And then there are situations

like this ... again the pedestrian is forced to negotiate on- coming traffic while the tuk-tuk driver naps on the passenger seat.

!!!!!!

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!

For some people,

particularly elderly, this curb height might be non-negotiable! S t a r t s a t 7 " & graduates to about 18". Option: walk i n t o o n - c o m i n g traffic?

!!

!!An example of signage getting

in the way of & once again endangering the pedestrian. Traffic to the left typically is driving at 60kph or higher.

!!Store vendor encroaches upon streetscape as many vendors do ... some all the way to the curb.

!!

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!!!!

Yes, I had my back

to & in traffic when I took the photo ... motorbikes & signage being the primary de ter ren ts shown here.

Clearly a mess here ... no

option but to negotiate on-coming traffic or cross to walk on the other side of the street if not looking for something on this side.South side of Old City ... Aside from the ponding water, which I assume only gets worse during the "rainy"

season, the streetscape is cut off entirely by street vendors directly ahead ... again, negotiate traffic or cross the street are the options. It seems to me that there is an option to allow for the transitioning of pedestrians in to the s t ree t vendor space ... a win-win for everyone I would think.

!

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I  personally love

the walk around t h e M o a t b u t oddly I see very few people on this side of the street during the day but in the evenings it i s m u c h m o r e actively used. I also like the idea that no barriers are placed along the moat side of the walkway … not necessary back in the 13th century and not necessary now. Unless of course this same scene was in the USA, a highly litigious society, in which, I’m sure barriers would have to be erected once approved by a State Historic Preservation Agency and reams of paperwork and approvals secured.

This scene is all too

typical ... mixture of bikes, cars, poles, s i g n s p l u s t h e surface variations.

!!!!!!!!!!

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The antiquity factor

comes into play quite often especially in the Old City where old structures are in place and impact the flow of traffic, both vehicular & pedestrian. The Moat walkway is behind me and lies ahead of me in th i s photo, but the transition is relegated to a narrow 1' wide path ... the other side of the street has no walkway at all, leaving pedestrians

(and dogs alike) to negotiate vehicular traffic.

O f c o u r s e ,

crossing the street takes on a level of "gamesmanship" that is similar to t h e o l d v i d e o game, Leapfrog. And further, the pedestrian does not have the right-of-way, ever! Even the hatched area in the center of the photo, typically regarded as the "safe haven", isn't safe since it is used often by both

cars & motorbikes to vie for position into the traffic flow ahead.

!!!!

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W i t h a m i n o r

adjustment this corner could be rebuilt to create a proper curb cut ... the pole ahead ... maybe not so easy to relocate but could be done. !!!!

!!!!At the pedestrian crossing

ahead there is a curb cut on one side of the street ... however not so much on the other. Not sure what the thinking was at the time. !!!!So there are certainly many more instances I could have highlighted, but I think one gets the

point. I would suggest that certain improvements could be made that would not take away from the charm of the City but would certainly make the City more easily traversed particularly for an ageing population. While it is obvious that much more study needs to be done to ascertain why conditions are what they are in any given particular area, I would offer that a study could be done to consider at least the following; ! • Construction of curb cuts with appropriate ramps and side slopes where possible. • Removal of trees and/or planters, tree stumps, abandoned elements that serve no

useful purpose in areas where the walkway is already too narrow. • Reconstruct pavements to create flush conditions (no "toe-stubbers").

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• Look at regulations regarding temporary/permanent signage especially in areas where access is limited.

• Look at regulations regarding parking of motorized vehicles on walkways, again especially where access is limited.

• Creation of "streetscape standards" to be followed when new building construction or reconstruction occurs to foster improvements such as those made at the Chedi (now Anantara) or River Market.

• Look to add street furniture such as benches and trash receptacles in open areas where walkway width is wider & can accommodate such features.  !

EPILOGUE

!It’s been nearly a year since I wrote this article/blog and as expected, I have not seen any

changes since to the conditions noted. In some cases, the conditions have become worse. Clearly, “walkable neighborhoods” is not a priority and at this point I don’t have any connections to the powers-to-be to persuade them to at the very least look into a study or initiate a systematic program for improvements. As Chiangmai continues to expand/grow, the number of tourists increase and the influx of expatriates settle here, the need for better streets, streetscapes and walkways will be become increasingly apparent. Maybe then, something will be done. Until then, I continue to bob and weave my way to and from my destinations by foot.