Street vendors in the Rama II area have a new place to sell their wares with the opening of the Route 69 Mini Hawker Centre in Bangkok’s Bang Khun Thian district.

“The setting up of hawker centres was one of my earliest policies when I took office. We aim to prioritise pedestrians’ safety by keeping street vendors off footpaths and putting them in designated places,” said city governor Chadchart Sittipunt as he opened the centre in Soi 69 of Rama II Road on Thursday.

“Hawkers and pedestrians must be able to cohabit peacefully and safely. This will also keep the city’s landscape tidy and eliminate any obstacles to traffic flow.”

Route 69 Mini Hawker Centre, located next to a parking lot of Tesco Lotus Rama II shopping mall, is the third centre to open following those in the Ari and On Nut areas.

Chadchart said hawkers have been setting up shop on footpaths of Soi 69 since 2020 when the city announced that the area was a permitted zone for street vendors.

To prepare for the opening, the city selected 45 vendors to join the project and provided them with training in city and public health regulations regarding selling products and foods in public areas. Those who passed the training will be allowed to set up their shops in the new centre.

The governor added that standard facilities within a hawker centre include a communal washing area, a waste separation zone, parking spaces for motorcycles and tricycles, and a vertical garden.

City’s private partner Siam Commercial Metal Ltd provided steel gates to be used around the centre, helping return the footpath to pedestrians.