Three years after motorcycles were banned from Bangkok’s tunnels and overpasses, hundreds of bike-riding petitioners rode up en masse to City Hall yesterday to demand it be overturned.
The roughly 500-strong group presented a petition addressed to Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang arguing that the ban was unfair and bad policy as most motorcycle-related accidents were due to speeding and not the use of bridges or tunnels.
The imposition of the ban effectively stopped two-wheeled commuters from traveling across the Chao Phraya River. Hundreds rallied in April 2016 to block a key bridge and demand the ban be lifted soon after it was put in place.
Peerasith Jeerawong, a group spokesman, said one of their proposed solutions was adding a dedicated motorcycle lane that could be used to traverse the restricted areas.
Bangkok has about 3.8 million motorcycles, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.
Civil Works deputy director Nithi Songcharoenkit said City Hall could not arbitrarily lift the ban by removing the signs, as they were mandated by traffic law.
Nithi said lifting the ban would be up to metro traffic police and the courts.
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