🗞️ Good morning! Bangkok is extending crosswalk timers from 15 to 25 seconds outside three hospitals, after a report found the timing too fast for older pedestrians.

📢 I’m hosting another human rights walk in Phra Nakhon Saturday, Aug. 22, at 4:30 p.m. — one spot left. RSVP here.

🎓 Soiciety is joining a climate change journalism training backed by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through its ASEAN-Australia Center. We’re one of 33 journalists picked from 700+ applicants!

The Chadchart administration has set a goal of planting 4 million trees over eight years — 2.7 million already in the ground, with 1.3 million left to hit the target this term.

Why it matters: It’s part of the administration’s push for more greenery citywide.

Big picture: Bangkok’s green space has grown ninefold over the past three decades to 8.47 square meters per person. But experts say publicly accessible green space is closer to 3 square meters per person.

Yes, but… The proposed 2027 budget for green spaces primarily covers renovations to five existing ones and general beautification, aside from the ongoing “15-minute park” project and the new Mom Chao Phirom Park in Min Buri.

Between the lines: City council criticized the administration for prioritizing decorative greenery over functional parks residents can actually use.

Bangkok’s “new generation city council” identified three policies as its most urgent and feasible priorities for the year: an autism care toolkit, safer school routes and citywide cycling infrastructure.

Why it matters: The program gives residents aged 15-35 a line to City Hall. Past pitches have become city policy, including library board game clubs and more environmentally friendly procurement rules.

The three pitches:

City officials questioned if a single toolkit can fit a wide autism spectrum, if helmet enforcement deserves priority given 70% to 80% of students commute by motorbike and if bike lanes should precede or follow demonstrated demand.

What’s next: The teams will keep working with the city to turn the pitches into policy.

After the Nonthaburi shooting, Bangkok is pushing to curb school violence with one guidance counselor per school, a daily 10-minute homeroom well-being check-in and a new bullying-report option on Traffy Fondue.

Why it matters: Officials described this as a shift from reactive policy to early warning-sign detection.

The gap: School Health Hero, a government program that helps teachers screen and manage student mental health, covers only 32% of students, according to lawmakers.

By the numbers: Nationwide, only about 110 child and adolescent psychiatrists practice, according to a 2025 parliamentary report.

The Education Ministry is weighing whether to open Thailand’s private school teachers’ welfare fund — currently reserved for Thai nationals — to foreign teachers, the education minister said.

Why it matters: The fund acts as a retirement and severance package for private school teachers. Several private and international schools have told the ministry that their foreign staff want to contribute but can’t.

Big picture: Teachers pay 3% of their monthly salary into the fund, matched by 3% from their school and 6% from the government — but full benefits vest only after 10 consecutive years of contributions.

Yes, but… The ministry said foreign teachers stay for six to seven years on average, short of the 10-year threshold. A ministry committee remains split and has ordered further study of the proposal before deciding.

Residents opposing Bangkok’s riverside park project in Bang Phlat took their fight to Parliament, saying City Hall’s actions contradict its vow to pause the project.

Why it matters: The 264-million-baht project would build a 3.5-kilometer walking and biking path along the Chao Phraya River, potentially cutting through riverside communities residents say trace back to the Ayutthaya era.

Zooming out: The petition to the House Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee follows a National Human Rights Commission request that the city review the project — which the commission says lacked a proper social impact assessment.

Flashback: The group petitioned the city in May, when Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt said the project would be paused.

Yes, but… Residents say online planning documents, site timelines and other records show no such freeze. According to the city, the project is 22.5% complete.

What’s next: The NHRC has called all parties to a meeting Sept. 1, running alongside the parliamentary committee’s own probe.

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