A video clip showing an individual in a wheelchair and his helper awkwardly manoeuvring around campaign signs of Bangkok governor candidates promising a "better life" for city dwellers is ironic.
It has also helped highlight another issue that the new Bangkok governor should attend to once the contest is done -- that being: pavements should be reclaimed for pedestrians.
In the lead-up, authorities concerned should take the opportunity to prevent the problem of campaign signboards blocking people's paths and causing inconvenience.
For the next gubernatorial election, a new rule should be issued to regulate the placement of campaign signboards.
As soon as the gubernatorial poll officially began late last month, campaign signs introducing 31 candidates for Bangkok governor and 382 contenders for the Bangkok Metropolitan Council began adorning many of the capital's streets.
Complaints soon followed about how these signboards have made life harder for passersby.
Many have pointed out that some candidates have so many signboards -- cramming a dozen or so into a small sidewalk area in some cases -- that they've become obstacles for those trying to make their way around the already cluttered paths.
Apart from being an eyesore, some of these long and wide signboards can be a real danger as they were put up in places that obscure the view of drivers as they come out of alleys or sub-sois.
The case of the individual in a wheelchair that was captured in the video clip widely shared on social media is a particularly terrible one.
Faced with what appeared like an obstacle course full of signboards, the helper had no choice but to push the wheelchair onto the street that was busy with traffic before trying to move it up to the pavement again after passing those signs.
If candidates are not sensitive to the needs of the disabled, and the right to use the pavement or other city dwellers, it does not augur well should they become elected as governor.
But Bangkok's pavements have never been friendly to pedestrians.
Substandard work resulting in uneven surfaces is often cited as a cause of accidents. Public signposts and multifarious objects belonging to diverse organisations sometimes occupy prime space on the pavement.
Above there is the mess of wires and cables looped around haphazardly has become well-known around the world. Some are left to hang dangerously near electrical poles or overpasses.
Considering the many traps -- food stalls, parked vehicles, motorcyclists -- that people have to negotiate on the sidewalks, it's no surprise that many of them have no choice but to risk their lives walking on the street instead.
As the Bangkok governor election is set to intensify, complaints about the campaign signboards should serve as a starting point for voters to demand a sidewalk clean-up. Also, the time has come for the cluttering campaign signboards to disappear.
For the next Bangkok governor election, a rule should be enacted to prepare a public space for all candidates to place their campaign signs on an equal basis.
Such a space will not only put an end to the cluttering signboards and free up pavements but also ensure that the candidates can fairly introduce themselves and their policies to voters.
