HIGH PRICE OF ‘PROGRESS’

Anyone who has spent time in Chiang Mai will know that massive environmental destruction along with huge increases in atmospheric pollution has been the result of this city’s development from what was once a beautiful small town. From Japan to Brazil it has become obvious the construction industry is the most corrupt in the world and binds politicians, bureaucrats and construction companies in a never-ending orgy of modern “development”. Chiang Mai’s growth is a story of non-stop building of roads, bridges, tunnels, condos, gigantic malls and villages created by a tenfold increase in population and the arrival of 1.8 million vehicles.

The biggest single source of dust pollution in Chiang Mai over the past year must be the new traffic intersection of the 118 Highway to Chiang Rai and the 121 outer ringroad. This gross monument to road planners’ stupidity (in a city with no mass transit) will soon be complete and allow unimpeded progress into town for a further two kilometres before the arrival at three controlled intersections as the highway diminishes to the original width now feeding thousands of cars into Central Festiva, McCormick hospital, Dara Academy and Prince Royals College.

In the opposite direction vehicles will have just a few hundred yards before they arrive at a relatively new roadside market notorious for its parking space being used by stallholders to sell their wares, forcing cars to park and reverse out into the main two-lane highway.

Then finally at the Doi Saket T junction, they will have the enjoyment of remaining stationary at the red lights halting the progress of outbound cars while the inbound traffic proceeds.

This we are told is progress, where the tax money goes and where fortunes are made. It would be laughable if it wasn’t so tragic.

Lungstib