Mass transit preferred

The fierce resistance against the idea of turning the Kasetsart tunnel-Ngamwongwan Road-Phong Phet Bridge into part of a double deck expressway should remind the Ministry of Transport to embrace public participation early when it comes to such projects rather than obsessing over the top-down decision-making process.

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Newly installed Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is dealing with a hot potato from the Land Traffic Management Committee's (LTMC) idea of converting the much-used public tunnel into a double deck expressway to be operated by a private concessionaire.

For almost two decades, the LTMC has been trying to develop expressway projects in Kasetsart without much success.

Regarding its latest effort, it was reported on Dec 1 the LTMC has held talks with a private concessionaire about developing such an expressway. To do so, the ministry would let the Bangkok Expressway and Metro Public Co Ltd (BEM) merge a public tunnel with the planned double deck expressway. The LTMC also proposed the idea of collecting a 30-baht fee to use the underground section. In exchange, the private concessionaire would cap inner-city tolls at 50 baht, down from 90 baht.