Most residents okay with Chiang Mai Metropolitan Bill
Play
About 60 per cent of Chiang Mai residents agree with the Chiang Mai Metropolitan Bill, as the city had the potential to govern itself transparently and become the upper northern region's economic centre, according to Chiang Mai-based Maejo Poll.
However the rest felt otherwise, citing the city’s issues including conflicts over city planning, insufficient public transportation, people’s lack of knowledge about the draft bill, expected higher living costs that lead to a social gap, and corruption.
Somkiat Chaipibul, director of Maejo University’s Economics Research and Agricultural Forecasting Centre, said on Thursday that the survey of 930 residents from February 3-20 found that 44 per cent remained unsure if the bill would be realised while only 6 per cent believed it was possible.
Regarding concerns after the bill’s implementation, the respondents voted for increased traffic jams at 78 per cent followed by the monopoly of administrative power at 53 per cent, the shrinking of green areas and natural resources at 52 per cent, the rise of crime at 49 per cent, and the social gaps between urban and rural societies at 47 per cent.
The top five matters to be solved beforehand were traffic jams at 82 per cent, public transportation system issues at 72 per cent, waste management at 63 per cent, commercial/industrial and residential zoning at 53 per cent and crime at 52.17 per cent.
