Tra Vinh does not widen central road to protect more than 14,000 trees

Although some roads in Tra Vinh are only 7m wide, with 3-4m sidewalks, quite narrow, the city has not widened the roads to protect 14,463 trees, including about 800 ancient trees over 100 years old.

Tra Vinh is known as the green city because of the large amount of trees covering it, concentrated in 7 wards.

Clip of "forest" of hundred-year-old trees on both sides of the road in Tra Vinh city.

Expand the city, not the roads.

Of the total 14,463 trees spread across 87 streets in Tra Vinh city, there are about 800 ancient trees over 100 years old belonging to the star apple and tamarind families...

This number of trees does not include trees in parks, temple grounds, office buildings, schools, and private homes.

The rows of old trees not only create shade and landscape but also contribute to regulating the air for a large area.

A green corner of Tra Vinh city.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lieu, Vice Chairman of Tra Vinh City People's Committee, said that the province and city's viewpoint is to protect trees.

This has created awareness not only from departments and units in the province but also from people who consider trees an important part of life.

"The province has identified trees as valuable assets that must be preserved and protected," said the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Vinh city.

Therefore, the central city roads, where there are many trees, have no plans to be widened even though the road surface is 7m wide and the sidewalk is 3-4m wide. This is to preserve the green tree system on the roads.

To ensure synchronous development of traffic infrastructure, localities will implement smart and flexible traffic regulation.

Green area in the suburbs of Tra Vinh city.

Mr. Cao Tan Trung, Chief of Office of the Traffic Safety Committee of Tra Vinh province, said that the province has also had a policy and is waiting for capital allocation to install cameras on many central city routes.

These cameras will play an important role in monitoring, regulating and fining vehicles passing through these routes.

"Cameras not only monitor and regulate traffic, ensure security and order, but also help monitor the condition of trees on both sides of the road," said Mr. Trung.

According to Giao Thong Newspaper reporters, although the road surface is narrow, the number of vehicles participating is not too crowded.

At intersections, although there are no traffic lights, there are no traffic conflicts.

The hundred-year-old trees have just been pruned and their branches cut to prevent them from falling during the storm season.

According to data from the Traffic Police Department of Tra Vinh Province, the city currently has about 114,400 motorbikes and 8,346 cars.

According to the authorities, traffic accidents in Tra Vinh city are at an average level.

At some intersections, traffic lights were installed in the past but were not effective so they were removed.

In addition, these routes are regularly maintained and repaired so the road surface is of good quality and traffic is safe.

According to the Vice Chairman of Tra Vinh City People's Committee, by 2030 the city is planned to expand its area nearly three times its current size, with a population of about 200,000 people.

Accordingly, 5 communes of two districts, Cang Long and Chau Thanh, will be merged into Tra Vinh city.

A central intersection of Tra Vinh city, although there are no traffic lights, traffic here is quite smooth.

At the same time, the socio-economic infrastructure system will be planned for new investment and construction. The administrative center of Tra Vinh city will also be moved to this expanded area.

The cleanest city in Vietnam, 3rd in Southeast Asia

Tra Vinh city has a population of about 115,000 people, the green coverage rate reaches 29.15 m2/person.

In March 2024, the global air quality monitoring agency IQAir (Switzerland) announced that Tra Vinh city ranked 3rd in the Top 15 cities with the cleanest air quality in Southeast Asia and was ranked the cleanest in Vietnam.

Row of trees over 100 years old on Le Thanh Ton street.

By April 2023, for the first time, the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United States Agency for International Development in Vietnam (USAID) announced the Provincial Green Index (PGI), and Tra Vinh was ranked 1st in the country.

This result is the result of many years of tree care and maintenance by the local government with a budget of nearly 20 billion VND.

Mr. Tran Van Thanh, Deputy Head of the City Urban Management Department, said that there are currently two units with a workforce of about 100 people who regularly check and prune branches before the rainy and stormy season to ensure safety.

In addition, the large amount of trees requires a large workforce to sweep leaves on the street.

Workers clear leaves on Le Thanh Ton Street.

"It's easy to see workers collecting leaves at any time, especially during the leaf-fall season.

We have to make sure leaves do not obstruct traffic or clog drains," said Mr. Thanh.

According to Mr. Thanh, care and maintenance work will pay special attention to trees over 100 years old.

In particular, measures were taken simultaneously such as fertilizing, improving the soil, transferring nutrients directly to the tree trunk; removing the concrete pavement that was tightly wrapped around the tree trunk... Thanks to that, the ancient trees are still growing very well.

In addition, experts and functional sectors in the province also regularly survey and evaluate the condition of trees, especially old trees.

This is the basis for local authorities to feel secure in conservation, even in stormy conditions.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tra-vinh-khong-mo-rong-duong-trung-tam-de-bao-ve-hon-14000-cay-xanh-192241120110344917.htm