The Chiang Mai Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) has stepped in to resolve a dispute between food truck vendors at its public park, after a confrontation between an existing steak vendor and a newcomer claiming PAO permission to trade on the same spot went viral online.
PAO officials first visited the site to clarify that the area is public land, open to free trading with no formal allocation of lots, and pledged to bring both parties together to talk things through.
PAO president Phichai Lertphongadisorn later visited in person, meeting with both vendors and other traders in the area. He confirmed no fees are charged and no favouritism is involved, describing the park as open to anyone wishing to trade, with room to expand as more vendors arrive.
Phichai urged both sides to move past the incident, calling for free and fair trading, mutual courtesy and cleanliness among vendors across the park’s 293 rai. He said the PAO charges no site fees and asked anyone approached for payment to report it directly to him, adding that the space is meant to boost incomes for locals and draw more visitors to the park.
