Difficulty in dealing with cars parked on sidewalks and roads

Recurring encroachment on sidewalks for parking lots

According to Giao thong Newspaper reporters in mid-April 2024, the roadsides and sidewalks on roads in Cau Giay, Thanh Xuan, Dong Da districts, etc. continued to be occupied, becoming illegal parking and car parking areas.

The situation of cars parked on sidewalks and roads recurs on many streets in Hanoi.

On Tran Duy Hung Street, cars are parked haphazardly on the sidewalk in front of the Radio Frequency Department, while on Le Van Luong Street, despite the no-parking signs, dozens of cars are still parked on the sidewalk in front of the Diamond Flowers building.

Even in Nguyen Thai Hoc street, sidewalks and roadsides have been turned into spontaneous parking lots with prices of 50,000 VND/car and 10,000 VND/motorbike.

Cars and motorbikes line up in two or three rows from the sidewalk to the road, leaving only a small path for vehicles to move up and down; pedestrians walk in the middle of the road to move, posing a potential traffic safety risk.

Nguyen Viet Hoang (21 years old, student at the University of Foreign Languages) often walks on Pham Van Dong Street, indignantly saying: Cars parking on the sidewalk happens regularly every day, to move, pedestrians are forced to squeeze through the gap between two rows of cars, or walk on the street.

"There were times when I saw the authorities take action, but it only lasted for a while, then everything went back to normal," Hoang said.

Decree 100/2019/ND-CP stipulates: The fine for parking a car on the sidewalk in violation of regulations or parking in a place with a "No Parking" sign is from 800,000 VND to 1 million VND. In case the driver stops or parks the car in violation of regulations causing traffic congestion, the fine will be from 1-2 million VND.

Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thi Loan (Group 5, Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay) said that the situation of people living in the area parking their cars on the road has been going on for a long time, limiting the visibility of passersby and causing many unfortunate collisions and accidents.

Not only are sidewalks encroached upon for parking and car-watching, many streets in Hanoi such as Hoang Quoc Viet, To Hieu, Nghia Tan, Nguyen Phong Sac, Nguyen Khanh Toan, Nguyen Khang,... sidewalks are also occupied to become places for trading and selling goods and services.

Statistics from Hanoi City in early 2024 show that about 6.2% of roads still have encroachment on the roadway, and about 22.4% of streets have sidewalks illegally exploited and used for business or parking.

Regarding the reason for not thoroughly handling the situation of sidewalk encroachment, traffic expert, Dr. Phan Le Binh said that in recent years, the number of cars has increased rapidly in Hanoi while newly licensed parking lots are very limited, leading to insufficient space to meet people's needs.

"In addition, the lack of regular and continuous punishment for violations and the lack of deterrent sanctions are also reasons why people disregard regulations and repeat violations," Mr. Binh emphasized.

Despite the no-parking signs, people still brazenly park their cars on the street, and in many places the sidewalks are even occupied for illegal parking.

How to restore order to the sidewalk?

According to Dr. Khuong Kim Tao, former Deputy Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee, dealing with cars parked on sidewalks in Hanoi is not easy, so it requires a long-term plan and regular, drastic implementation.

First of all, it is necessary to stop allowing the exploitation of sidewalks for car parking because the nature of sidewalks is a road reserved for pedestrians, separate from other motor vehicles, thereby ensuring traffic safety and urban beauty.

In addition, continue to focus on expanding and developing public transport infrastructure, ensuring integrated and harmonious urban planning with utilities to meet people's travel needs.

"In handling violations of sidewalk encroachment, parking, and illegal parking, it is necessary to combine direct handling and fines through the traffic camera system, and even apply measures such as posting violation notices on vehicles," said Mr. Tao, adding: Along with fines, it is necessary to increase propaganda to the people about regulations and sanctions for handling violations so that people understand and comply, thereby raising people's awareness and contributing to building civilized streets.

Sharing the same view, Dr. Phan Le Binh said that the immediate measure is to strictly and widely handle the matter with the spirit of respecting the law to form awareness among the people not to dare to violate the law.

In the long term, according to Mr. Binh, it is necessary to plan the construction of underground parking lots to meet people's needs, along with research on mechanisms and preferential policies to attract investors to participate in the construction of parking lots.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/ha-noi-gian-nan-xu-ly-o-to-do-tran-lan-via-he-long-duong-19224041723040336.htm