Chiang Mai Walking Street Project

The Walking Street Project is a concept ideas to develop Chiang Mai by an assigning the areas of city go along  with the way of people life in community,and in many countries, Walking Street has known as the center of art, writing arts, and handicrafts, including the tourist places ,where are popular for visitors.

     The Walking Street Project of Thailand was first started on Srilom road, as a pilot project for 7 weeks until later became  popular. It was determined with a developing of the city. Especially a big city in the regions of the country, Such as Chiang Mai where the walking street project can adapt ideas. It is not only the promotions  as inviting tourism,but the ideas to make a  better economy  by the qualities of people in city.

     Chiang Mai province, former Nopburisrinakon Chiang Mai has been flourished in arts and antiques, including the charming of the Lanna cultures for hundreds of years. It also has been prosperous with the growth of economy.

     The Walking Street Project Committee has assigned a vision to  develop concept of the city by using land profitably that will make the city become more lovable place for promoting to toursim by filled up with the potential activities.

     The Walking Street of Chiang Mai is a part of the activities. It was assigned  the "Thapae

Road " to be an experimental center because it was the first economy road of the city since the last 200 years.

     The theme of the project is " To return lives to the community and road to the pedestrians " by blocking road from Upakut intersection to Thapae gate where is 950 metres long. The main purpose is to introduce a beautiful and attractive cultures of Lanna people to visitors that to  present the  heart of activities. It includes a campaign of an energy saving and reducing of the pollutions.

     In order to reach the goals which is to project ideas by making the benefits to the community ,whether in an economy, a society or a way of local poeple life.

Blocking road helps to provide an area of the road to be a social activity compound and later becomes a public area center, and it also can make the local people to earn their living by selling their own hand-made products. This shows  to the promoting of the wisdom from villagers. On top of that, it still makes the area of the road  be recovered from the pollutions, an improving of the environments of the city and mental  health of the people.

     At the beginning, the activities of the Walking Street were held on every Sunday. Starting from Sunday 3rd , Febuary - Sunday 7th , April 2003. The whole total of activities was 10 times that later was called " the 10 Wonderful Lanna at Thapae "

     The project was first organized by the J.S.L. company. After ending of the contract, the Walking Street Project Committee decided to hand it over to the Nakon Chiang Mai Municipality, and later the project was started again on Sunday 14th , April 2003.Time 01-10 p.m.

     When the municipality has a policy to remove all the public utilities from above of the road to underground. The project was moved to the "Rachdumnern Road " where is 1.5 kilometres long and it was started from Sunday 31st , August.

    The Walking Street Project has been excepted as good sample nad, it should have been supported continuously.

    In order to provide the grand benefits to the local people of Chiang Mai  those who have the abilities to earn their living by selling their handicraft products to the visitors. It is one of the impressions of tourism that makes Chiang Mai  become more and more famous for the tourists from all over the world.