Bangkok Car Free Day 2016 set Sept 18

BANGKOK, September 8 (TNA) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), in cooperation with public and private alliances, will organise the Bangkok Car Free Day event 2016, the 16th consecutive years of its kind, on September 18. Suthon Anakul, Deputy Director of the BMA's Traffic and Transport Department, told a press conference on Thursday that, like previous years, the upcoming Bangkok Car Free Day is part of the City Hall's project on promoting sustainable travels in 2016. Suthon said the event is aimed to encourage the public to use other modes of travels, instead of cars, like walking, bike riding or mass public transit systems, to help alleviate traffic problems. According to the senior official, a ceremony to inaugurate the Bangkok Car Free Day 2016 will be held at Sanam Luang ceremonial ground at 8am, after which a caravan of bicycles will be released for participating cyclists to ride their bikes around the Rattanakosin Island for a total distance of 9 kilometres. The senior official noted that the Rattanakosin Island is a most important tourist site in Bangkok and even in Thailand in terms of its traditional artist and cultural values. For this year, the senior official stated, BMA plans to clear the Rattanakosin Island off personal vehicles for at least one day monthly in order to turn Bangkok into a city for sustainable travels, supported by the development of 8 kilometre-bicycle lanes around the Rattanakosin Island and the provision of mini-bus services in the area. (TNA)