Slow to rent, sidewalks continue to be encroached

While in Ho Chi Minh City, sidewalk tolls have been implemented for a long time, in Hanoi, the project has not yet been approved. Sidewalks on many streets are still being illegally occupied, pushing pedestrians onto the road.

Pedestrians pushed into the street

According to Giao Thong Newspaper reporters, after a period of drastic action to reclaim sidewalks for pedestrians, the situation of encroachment on sidewalks and roads for trading in inner-city districts of Hanoi has recurred.

The situation of encroachment on sidewalks for trading on many streets of Hanoi after Tet has recurred. Photo: Ta Hai.

On streets such as Hang Ma, Luong Van Can, Hang Buom, Hang Gai… in Hoan Kiem district, a series of businesses display their goods everywhere, leaving no space for pedestrians. Residents and tourists are forced to weave through the traffic on the street.

"The situation of occupying roads and sidewalks makes the image of the capital not beautiful in the eyes of tourists. People are forced to adapt to jostling on the streets," said Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong (Hoan Kiem).

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tuan Khien, Deputy Chief of Trang Tien Ward Police, said that sidewalks are closely related to people's livelihoods, so handling them is difficult.

"The local government is planning and arranging business households, creating social security conditions for people in the area while still ensuring convenience for tourists and people to have fun and relax," said Lieutenant Colonel Khien.

Similarly, on Thai Thinh Street (Dong Da), businesses freely use the sidewalks and roadsides for trading. It is worth noting that many businesses have been fined but still openly violate the law.

273 streets are eligible for sidewalk rental

Regarding the expansion of sidewalk toll collection on hundreds of routes in the capital, Mr. Vo Nguyen Phong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Construction, said that during the project development process, through surveys, up to now, 273 streets have met the conditions and criteria for temporarily using a part of the sidewalk for business and vehicle parking.

The project is built on the basis of consulting experience in managing, exploiting and using roadsides and sidewalks for non-traffic purposes in some countries around the world such as the US, France, Singapore... as well as in some localities in the country such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An (Quang Nam), Hoan Kiem district (Hanoi)...

Explaining why it has not been implemented yet, the leader of the Hanoi Department of Construction said that it will be submitted in the second quarter of 2025: "The project is being drafted and opinions are being sought from members of the drafting team, districts and counties. This is a very complicated issue and needs to be carefully studied because each street, each district and county has different characteristics and features."

Mr. Trinh Hoang Tung, Vice Chairman of Hoan Kiem District People's Committee, informed that the district has prepared plans and necessary conditions to implement the pilot.

Accordingly, the district will focus on issuing management regulations with specific regulations, identifying necessary criteria, qualified streets, regulations on business types and hours. This will be made public for people to understand.

"We will divide the streets into groups such as tourism services, pedestrian streets; controlled business streets; and parking service groups. The project will not be implemented on sidewalks around headquarters, agencies, and schools. During the pilot, the district will determine the usable area for each street, conduct periodic monitoring, and collect public opinions.

It is expected that when the competent authority gives permission, the district will pilot the project on Quang Trung street for 6 months, then research and gain experience to be able to widely deploy it," Mr. Tung affirmed.

Need to be tightly managed

According to architect Dao Ngoc Nghiem, when collecting sidewalk fees, Hanoi needs to pay attention to the scope of the project implementation, because it cannot be applied in every location.

The most important thing is to avoid conflicts during implementation, because the use of sidewalks and roads involves many subjects and affects people's lives.

Former Deputy Director of Hanoi Police Bach Thanh Dinh also commented that the project needs to carefully study the characteristics of each street and the appropriate time frame for effective implementation. For example, there are streets that are good for business during the day, but not effective at night. There are streets that are congested in the morning, but using part of the roadway and sidewalk for parking is not appropriate.

"It's not enough to just issue a license, but also to organize and manage, for example, what kind of business is allowed, who is responsible for checking, supervising, and maintaining regularly. Then there's the issue of waste, how to ensure the urban environment. At the same time, we need to avoid the situation where tattooed people stand up to watch over vehicles, collect excessive fees...", Mr. Dinh suggested.

In the list of 273 streets that meet the criteria for sidewalk rental, there are streets such as: Ly Thuong Kiet, Quang Trung, Tran Hung Dao, Hai Ba Trung, Da Tuong, Trang Tien, Hang Khay, Ngo Quyen, Ham Long, Chua Boc, Huynh Thuc Khang, Giang Vo, Tran Dai Nghia, Tran Khat Chan...

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/ha-noi-cham-cho-thue-via-he-tiep-tuc-bi-lan-chiem-1922502202241314.htm