UDON THANI — Travelers to Udon Thani City may be forgiven for momentarily thinking they’ve stepped out of Isaan and into the beating commercial heart of Tokyo.
A new pedestrian crosswalk near the provincial center’s train station was completed today featuring a large diagonal zebra crossing, and it didn’t take long for comparisons to Tokyo’s bustling Shibuya Crossing to start rolling in.
The crosswalk is part of the an urban planning project organized by the Thai Association of Town Planning along with various architects and developers. It aims to reorganize roads and increase safety for pedestrians.
A member of the project said the inspiration indeed came from the Shibuya Crossing.
“The intersection was mostly filled by motorbikes, buses and food stalls which cause traffic congestion,” a project member who would only identify himself as Ton said. “So we wanted to enlarge the pedestrians’ footpath space.”
The large diagonal crossing makes it convenient for people to walk between several attractions in the area, including a KFC, 7-Eleven, shopping mall and the train station.
“Now people do not have to cross twice to get to their destination,” Ton said.
The project took months of study and experimentation at many intersections before the U.D. Town intersection design, named for a nearby shopping center, was chosen.
The new intersection was set to undergo a “test run” at 4pm today, with pedestrians invited to come try it out.
The Real Shibuya Crossing Tokyo
Shibuya Crossing Tokyo
-->Click here to visit our Main UdonInfo Forum Site.
-
One in seven public transport vehicles are... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Fri, 07:01:08
About one in seven public transport vehicles have failed safety checks in the first week of... -
Old man harboured a 50 year bullying grudg... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:01:56
Thai caption: Sorry about that mate. A 69 year old man shot his friend of the same age aft... -
Bangkok woman hospitalised after she falls... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 02:30:03
A 51 year old Thai woman was recently sent to hospital complaining of vaginal pain because ... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:41:29
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Transport Minister wants to raise the spee... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:34:04
New transport minister Saksayam Chidchob - whose family are famous for having a racetrack i... -
Thai woman's nose job turns foul due to di... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 05:09:26
A Thai woman in Bangkok went on Facebook after a nose job went wrong. The woman had gone to... -
Thai man sent beautiful Bai Por 2.3 millio... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 14:11:01
Sanook has reported that a Thai man fell for what he thought was a beautiful woman on Faceb... -
Chiang Mai Airport: Grab car driver says h... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:55:46
A Grab Car driver told the Thai media that he was attacked by officials at Chiang Mai airpo... -
Naked Thai man jumps on pick-up - drugs mi... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 01:48:31
Our picture from Sanook shows a 22 year old Thai man jumping on the hood of a pick-up truck... -
Electric massage chair almost eats man ali... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 06:09:06
In Thailand, massages are very popular amongst locals and foreigners. Thai massage shops ca... -
Rapist of granny, 89, caught - but the gra... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 03:30:18
Police in Trang in southern Thailand have arrested a 71 year old man after he admitted rapi... -
Video: Dog Trashes Car - bugger off and te... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:15:57
A dog owner told their neighbor that they refused to accept responsibility for the damage t... -
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who ... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:09:36
The hunt is on for a Thai taxi driver who took an upskirt picture of a female passenger in ... -
German expats perfect the ' pointing ' sta... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 06:26:04
Officials in central Prachuap Khiri Khan went to a three story property after complaints th... -
Evidence of prostitution found in Pattaya:... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 03:43:47
The special administrative department of the Pattaya authorities finally showed the police ... -
Liquids, gels, sprays and food banned from... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 03:28:46
Sanook said that D-Day for new Civil Aviation Authority bans on a whole host of foods, liqu... -
Chinese tourist in Bangkok caught defecati... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:42:38
Thai Rath reported that a Chinese male tourist had dropped his trousers and attempted to po... -
Outrage after farang stars in Chiang Mai p... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 03:51:24
Social media users have called for the police to investigate the origins of an adult movie ... -
Villagers in Khon Kaen falling for so-call... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Thu, 00:12:42
KHON KAEN Provincial Public Health official Peera Areerat has warned people against buying ... -
Udon Thani - German pensioner electrocuted... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 02:30:43
Sanook reported that a 78 year old German pensioner was electrocuted trying to repair a pum... -
German tourist's head bound with duct tape... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Wed, 01:00:00
Ao Nang, Krabi police called to a luxury hotel's 6th floor on Tuesday found a 40 year old G... -
Fired worker went on Bt6m spending spree w... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Tue, 05:44:35
A woman who was fired by her company took revenge by stealing her former boss’s credit card... -
Bikini babes light up record breaking &qu... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Mon, 04:44:35
Cameras were out recording pictures and videos of the attractions at the fourth annual "Cen... -
Gecko arrested after obstructing doorway (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 04:49:53
BUENG KAN — The bravery of Thai police was put to the test once again on Thursday night – b... -
Taxi driver: "I didn't mean to attack... (1) , AdminExpatInfo, Sat, 02:46:17
A taxi driver told police in Bangkok that he never intended to attack two South Korean wome...
