Accessibility Is Freedom

Lectures

Articles

  • URGENT: Help This Grandmother at the Customs Department Intersection – Extremely Dangerous!!!

    URGENT: Help This Grandmother at the Customs Department Intersection – Extremely Dangerous!!!

    A clip from a police officer from the Khlong Toei 08 unit shows an elderly woman sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the Customs Department intersection. The officer asked with concern, “So why did you come out here?” Her answer: she has to do this every day. She’s a “regular” at this intersection — and it seems the officer knows her well. Seeing this makes it even more worrying. Google Earth imagery from May 2024 shows all four corners of this intersection lack curb ramps, and she crosses outside the crosswalk. High-speed cars and plenty of trucks make…

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  • Tuk-Tuk Noise Control Measures – What Do We See?

    Tuk-Tuk Noise Control Measures – What Do We See?

    In late July 2026, the Department of Land Transport (DLT) proposed a draft regulation to ban internal combustion engine tuk-tuks from inner Bangkok, exempting electric tuk-tuks. The proposal is open for public comment until August 27, 2026, with no ban yet in effect. There are 8,582 registered tuk-tuks nationwide, regulated by the DLT under the Land Transport Act B.E. 2522 as “public three-wheeled hire vehicles.” All must display yellow plates, pass annual inspections, and their drivers must hold public transport licenses. The proposal follows accumulated complaints — particularly loud modified exhausts disturbing patients near the Police Hospital — and a…

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  • Bangkok Tomorrow

    Bangkok Tomorrow

    Wouldn’t it be amazing if Bangkok, in the future, became a city where everyone can travel easily and safely? Whether you’re a wheelchair user, a parent pushing a stroller, or a tourist dragging a suitcase, imagine sidewalks that meet international standards—with smooth, continuous surfaces, no electric poles or advertising signs blocking the way, no motorcycles riding on the sidewalk, no vendor carts encroaching, and no buildings squeezing the road edge. I’m confident Bangkok can do this. Japan has proven this isn’t just a dream. Tokyo has had Barrier-Free Law since 2006, and it got stricter in 2020. This law requires…

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  • 3 countries that reduced roads, increased sidewalks, connectivity, and public transportation

    3 countries that reduced roads, increased sidewalks, connectivity, and public transportation

    Imagine a country where over 500 children died from car accidents in a single year, then turned around to become the safest place in the world for pedestrians and cyclists. This isn’t a utopia — it’s what the Netherlands 🇳🇱 actually did. The turning point came in the 1970s from “Stop de Kindermoord” protests, forcing the government to reverse policies and create “woonerf”—living streets prioritizing walking and cycling over cars. Today, the Netherlands has over 37,000 kilometers of bike lanes and “autoluw” low-car city centers. Accidents dropped massively, people got healthier, cities became more livable, and investment attracted businesses and…

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