The decision was made at yesterday's meeting of police, organisers and the vendors who sat in front of the expo's gate on Thursday night for about three hours to protest the traffic ban on Ratchaphruek Road.

Visitors had to take shuttle buses, provided by the organisers, from downtown straight into the venue, bypassing the booths set up on the roadside.

Lt-General Kititud Reantip, commander of Provincial Police Region 5, said he sympathised with the locals who had paid a lot to rent their booths, but he had to consider the convenience of visitors and the traffic flow. The new system would be adjusted again if they caused trouble, he said.

The organisers agreed to attach a map of the parking lots near the site, while the parking-lot operators committed to not charging more than Bt50 a day for cars and Bt20 for motorcycles.

The entrepreneurs were satisfied with the results of the meeting and looked forward to earning some income, as the first two days of the expo were a total disaster for them.

Tanet Charoenmuang, a political scientist at Chiang Mai University, blamed the organisers for not caring about the surrounding communities.

"It was wrong since the beginning that the project was planned and arranged by those in Bangkok. They never asked the opinions of people and local administrations - what they think and what they can get from the event," he said.

Local residents, particularly those living near the horticultural expo, should be allowed to gain something from the event, which has brought them problems such as serious traffic congestion, said Tanet. However, he expressed concern that the new rules would make the traffic near the expo even worse.

The organisers should include locals as part of the event by providing them with some spots free of charge on the expo grounds where they can sell their products.

That way, visitors would not be irritated by heavy traffic while locals could share in the tourist dollars generated by the event, he added.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation

CHIANG MAI