In the meantime, the BMA - whose governor is, under normal circumstances, elected - need not worry about upsetting potential voters.
Elsewhere, the military government has demolished resorts that have encroached on public forests, and also removed illegally built bars and restaurants from public beaches.
But Dr Vallop stresses that the Bangkok clean-up is not the junta's initiative. "It did not order the City Hall to clear the pavements."
Asked if it would cause Bangkok to lose its allure as a destination for tourists, he says: "We have to weigh the income from tourism against public inconvenience… Not all tourists like jammed pavements."
Observers accuse the BMA of looking after the interests of middle-class residents at the expense of the poor. It is on the streets, after all, where small-time hawkers make a living, and where quick meals can be had for 20 baht (80 Singapore cents) or 30 baht.
In the case of Khlong Thom market, a sprawling flea market near Bangkok's Chinatown which was reined in as well, it was also where some of the cheapest products could be found.
"Many Bangkok residents don't buy food or do other activities on the pavements any more," points out Dr Nattapong Punnoi, an urban planner at Chulalongkorn University. "Many of them use cars, and connect from their home to their office, or to the mall," he adds.
It is this group of people who are most supportive of the removal of vendors from the pavements.
Over at Mahakan Fort, where the land-use tussle spans several decades and involves compensation payments already paid out, residents are both wary and resentful.
"Poor people live here. Those who have money have moved away," says 70-year-old Somjai Kanjana, who has been living there all her life.
The effort to clear public spaces, she adds, is "good for people who have a choice, like those in the middle class".
The BMA says that it has tried to find alternative business venues for low-income vendors.
Property owners tell The Straits Times they are waiting for larger-scale redevelopment plans before sprucing up their own premises. But longer-term plans have not been forthcoming.
At Saphan Lek, a warren of gaming and toy shops has been cleared since late 2015 but the area has yet to be redeveloped. Only newly paved paths and planter boxes line the area's canal.
In the meantime, Dr Vallop says the BMA is now eyeing Yaowarat - Bangkok's Chinatown - as well as the backpackers' district of Khao San Road next for a clean-up.
It may not involve the wholesale removal of street stalls, he stresses. It could instead involve a commitment by vendors to meet a certain hygiene standard, or a relocation of street carts from the main road to side streets.
Dr Nattapong thinks city officials should spend just as much effort redesigning public spaces to meet the future needs of the increasingly crowded city.
"It's time to make new rules for Bangkok about using public space," he says. "I don't think just clearing it is the best answer." The critical thing is figuring out how to "return it to the Bangkok people".
BEFORE AND AFTER: SIAM SQUARE