Not decisive enough and lacks coordination.

(Baonghean) - On August 25, 2011, the Standing Committee of the Vinh City Party Committee issued Directive No. 05-CT/Th.U on strengthening the leadership of Party committees at all levels over urban order management in the city. After three years of implementation, urban management in Vinh City still faces many shortcomings, especially the re-encroachment on roads, sidewalks, and traffic safety corridors for commercial purposes.

Changes

After three years of implementing Directive 05, Vinh City has a new, more spacious, clean, and beautiful appearance. The city organized six intensive campaigns to simultaneously clear traffic safety corridors, urban sidewalks, and prevent re-encroachment, contributing to a reduction in previously problematic encroachment issues on streets such as Phan Dinh Phung, Le Hong Phong, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Cao Thang, Thai Phien, Tran Phu, etc. Public awareness has improved, reducing traffic safety violations. In three years, the city's urban inspection force inspected 3,660 cases of construction order violations, issued violation reports for nearly 400 cases, and collected 1.98 billion VND for the state budget. Minutes were prepared and submitted to the City People's Committee for issuance of 87 decisions on the forced demolition of construction works violating construction regulations in wards and communes such as: Hung Dung, Vinh Tan, Ha Huy Tap, Ben Thuy, Truong Thi, Nghi Phu, Hung Dong, Trung Do, Quan Bau, Hung Binh, Quang Trung; on-site demolition and recovery of encroached land totaling 30,316 m2 in wards and communes: Hong Son, Vinh Tan, Truong Thi, Ha Huy Tap, Nghi Phu, Dong Vinh, Trung Do, Nghi An.

Authorities are clearing illegal encroachments on Nguyen Trai Street (Nghi Phu).

The campaigns received strong support from the people in the wards and communes. Residents voluntarily dismantled nearly 4,000 awnings of various types. Ward and commune-level authorities dismantled 4,251 awnings, confiscated 3,922 advertising signs, 445 support posts, 1,968 m² of B40 steel mesh, 389 m² of temporary fences, 168 pushcarts for street vendors, 934 umbrellas, thousands of sets of tables and chairs, and forcibly dismantled 195 kiosks; cleared 27 parking areas and mobile vending points, and imposed fines totaling 1.04 billion VND. Ward and commune police fined 6.97 billion VND for administrative violations related to traffic safety and order. The city also selected several wards and communes as model areas for urban order and civilization, such as Truong Thi, Hung Binh, Le Mao, and Nghi Phu. Several routes have been selected as models for building green, clean, and beautiful streets, such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai - Ho Tung Mau; Quang Trung - Le Loi - Mai Hac De,... It can be affirmed that, after successive campaigns and with the efforts of the entire political system, the urban landscape of Vinh City has undergone positive changes compared to before the implementation of Directive 05, forming civilized streets with clear roads and spacious sidewalks...

After the clearance, the encroachment resumes.

Unfortunately, a regrettable reality is that immediately after the clearance operations, the re-encroachment on sidewalks, roadways, and pavements continues to occur.

Nghi Phu commune is considered a gateway connecting the center of Vinh City and surrounding areas, with many new urban areas and important roads. It has been chosen by the City People's Committee as a model for urban order and civilization. However, currently, the business situation in the Quan Banh afternoon market area is chaotic, causing serious environmental pollution. In the afternoon, National Highway 1A at the Quan Banh intersection is narrowed because people spill onto the sidewalks and even the road to sell their goods. This situation has been going on for many years but cannot be completely resolved. Along the sidewalks of Nguyen Trai Street, National Highway 46, and Hoang Phan Thai Street, many households encroach on the sidewalks to use them as trading spaces. In other areas such as Truong Thi, Hung Binh, and Le Mao, sidewalk encroachment continues to occur, most notably on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Dinh Cong Trang, and Tran Phu streets. Even on streets designated as green, clean, and beautiful areas, widespread encroachment persists, such as the Quan Lau market area (Ho Tung Mau street), Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street where chaotic parking, cafes encroaching on sidewalks, motorbike repair shops on sidewalks, and mobile phone and laptop screen protectors are still prevalent; Quang Trung street still has business violations such as encroachment in areas selling electrical appliances, bicycles, and motorbikes, and chaotic motorbike parking in front of the Vietnam-Germany Children's Cultural Center and the BigC area.

According to statistics from the Vinh City Urban Management Department, sidewalk encroachment is currently recurring on 31 main roads in the city's wards and communes, causing traffic safety hazards, disrupting urban order, and harming the environment. The campaigns to clear these encroachments have not been truly effective, merely a temporary fix; after large-scale clearing operations, the encroachment recurs on these roads.

Lack of long-term solutions,sustainable

Regarding the re-encroachment on sidewalks and roadsides after large-scale enforcement campaigns, Mr. Do Dinh Thong, Deputy Chief Inspector of Urban Planning in Vinh City, stated that for a long time, enforcement efforts have been hampered by ineffective measures, with inspectors' vehicles clearing the area only to have people re-encroach behind them. Many factors contribute to the frequent encroachment of sidewalks and roadsides for commercial purposes in the city. It must be acknowledged that the role of state management in areas related to traffic safety and urban order has been limited. In particular, planning and construction permits have been inadequate in some areas, and the implementation of plans has not been consistent. Some local Party and government leaders have not paid sufficient attention, have not been consistent, and have not fully fulfilled their responsibilities. Furthermore, some wards and communes even collect fees from those using sidewalks for business. Since 2013, when this practice was banned by the City People's Committee, some wards and communes have still found ways to circumvent the law. "During inspections and enforcement, we discovered that some wards and communes have allowed market management boards to collect money from vendors on nearby sidewalks. This is complicity in the wrongdoing, making it very difficult to control encroachment," Mr. Do Dinh Thong affirmed.

For a long time, those who illegally occupy sidewalks have developed a habit of re-encroaching after being cleared by authorities, due to the lack of coordinated and effective measures to prevent re-encroachment. In many places, residents even collude to inform each other about the schedules of inspection and enforcement teams, preparing to counter them before they arrive. As soon as the urban regulations enforcement vehicles leave, everything returns to how it was before. With low public awareness and a disregard for the law, consumers have also developed a mentality of using street services indiscriminately, buying whatever is convenient, inadvertently giving vendors a reason to encroach on sidewalks and roads.

On the other hand, the city's Urban Inspectorate has long neglected the task of clearing traffic safety corridors and preventing re-encroachment. The time allocated to clearing traffic safety corridors is limited, focusing primarily on construction order inspections. The two model roads assigned to the City Urban Inspectorate by the Vinh City People's Committee, Le Hong Phong and Phan Dinh Phung, still suffer from sidewalk encroachment by breakfast eateries, afternoon beer and liquor shops, cafes, sheet metal rolling workshops, etc.

When discussing "hot spots" of sidewalk encroachment for commercial purposes, Mr. Do Dinh Thong acknowledged that some streets are being controlled by "protection rackets." These are often unsavory characters who extort money from residents. When authorities attempt to take action, these individuals often try to obstruct, quarrel, and threaten. Some urban regulations officers at the ward and commune levels are also reluctant to confront these individuals, making it very difficult to address the issue on some streets.

Besides the reasons mentioned above, the most fundamental reason is that currently, in Vinh City, thousands of households rely on selling goods on sidewalks and streets for their livelihood. These are not simply part-time jobs, but a genuine means of survival; behind the street vendors' carts and stalls are the lives of impoverished families. Therefore, in one way or another, people will still find ways to occupy sidewalks and streets for selling, regardless of whether it is a violation and may result in administrative penalties, confiscation of goods, or signs. This also raises the issue of finding long-term, sustainable solutions to create favorable trading spaces for those who make a living selling goods on sidewalks and streets.

If Vinh City has initially succeeded in planning the night food market area, then in the near future, it should also consider planning other specialized trading areas to both create jobs for people and collect taxes and fees. Once the markets are re-planned to be spacious and well-maintained, providing enough space for small traders so they don't have to stand on the streets, and once street vendors and clothing cart sellers have suitable and convenient places to sell their goods, then the encroachment on sidewalks and roads for business will certainly decrease. At that point, campaigns and operations to clear violations of traffic safety corridors and sidewalks will no longer be ineffective or merely a futile effort.

Text and photos:Nguyen Khoa