Desired Physical Environmentof Walking Street: A Case Study of Thalang Street, Phuket

                The main objective of the research were 1) to study the current physical features of Thalang Road and the reasonable suitability for using the road as a walking street, 2) to identify existing proplems, user behaviours, and activity patterns which occurred in the walking street area, 3) to bring up the solution for developing the physical environment of Thalang Road in Phuket. The study involved two data collection methods, observation and interviews. While the data were collected by survey and fieldwork observation which gathered the physical environment, the useability of the road, and the activities on the road; the user opinions and theories as to walking street were used to analyse the data for finding the results and suggestions for Thalang Road. The results revealed that Thalang Road contained several desired physical conditions in terms of suitable location, various accesses to the site, and conveniences to connect to other transportation networks. However, while bus stops, shuttle services, and parking spaces were still not suitable, the environmental and physical elements of the road were appropriate such as the road width, the road surface, and the arrangments of stalls. Moreover, the scenery and visual aesthetics of the walking street were acceptable, especially the architectural style of buildings with distinctive local identity while the occurrence of current activities on the road was also appropriate. Lastly, as the walking street management were inefficient, the matters of toilets, sitting areas, street furniture, and several other facilities should be solved.

Credit :  เมติญา ไถเหี้ยม // ชัยสิทธิ์ ด่านกิตติกุล

https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/irdssru/article/view/214161