End in sight
for residents in battle against building noise
For people
in Bangkok 's Pathum Wan district, the sound of construction
work is their signal a new day is
beginning.
"Cranes start up
at 6am and you wake me up with hammers
at 6am every weekend," expatriate Klein
told contractors at a meeting of irate, sleep-deprived
residents.
Klein lives in an apartment in the Grand Regent in
Soi Mahadlekluang 2. The block is sandwiched by two construction
sites.
The nightmare may soon be over following
reconciliation between the community and contractors. It is a win-win deal for
the community, the contractors and Pathum Wan
district.
"This is the first time
a Bangkok community has successfully
negotiated with contractors," said Pathum Wan district director Surakiat
Limcharoen.
There have been thousands of complaints about
construction noise
in Bangkok , but there has never been a collective complaint
like that of the sleepless of Pathum
Wan.
Led by resident Oraya Sutabutr, the community last
month demanded contractors be more considerate about noise and shorten working
hours on weekends. It also wanted dust control and care of public
spaces.
Six more condominiums and hotels are being erected
in Sois Mahadlekluang 1 to 3, adding to the half dozen already there. There is
another construction site on nearby Lang Suan. This work causes noise and air
pollution.
The contractors are
Rittha, K-Tech , Jiangsu
When building started some months ago, residents
were angered by working hours that often started as early
as 6am or even went around the
clock.
They filed complaints with the Bangkok
Metropolitan Administration and some of the problems were solved for a short
period.
But Surakiat believed there would be no total
solution unless the parties listened to each other's
needs.
He arranged the recent meeting where the community
asked contractors to start working in accordance with the law - which
stipulates 8am to
10pm weekdays
and 11am to
10pm on weekends as acceptable hours.
Workers are required to take care when in public
areas.
The community can punish contractors who ignore
agreements struck at the meeting. Penalties include temporary closure for one
day. For subsequent offences Bt100,000-a-day fines will be imposed and money
used by the district for community improvement, such as footpaths for the
disabled along Rajdamri Road and improvements to car parking at Wat
Pathumwanaram.
"I'm just a middleman chairing the meeting.
Everyone gets to say what they want," Surakiat says. "Nobody loses. And we get
donations to improve our community,
too."
Sirinya
Wattanasukchai
The Nation