"Red eyes" looking for parking in Vinh City

Slow construction of parking lot

There are still many conflicting opinions about the parking lot on Cao Thang Street leading to Vinh Market. Many people think that parking on the street is a violation of urban security and order. However, it is also a rare parking lot in Vinh City.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of Vinh City Urban Management Department said: Although it is a last resort, the parking lot on Cao Thang Street solves many problems. If we do not build that parking lot, we will not know where to park when entering Vinh market. Cao Thang Street is as wide as a small square, not like other streets, and the fee of 10,000 VND/turn/2 hours, with fully painted parking curbs to ensure the road on both sides, and the investment fee is collected quickly (1 year, 400 - 500 million VND).

The middle part of Cao Thang Street in front of Vinh Market is used as a "field" parking lot. Photo: Thien Thao

There is also a lack of parking spaces to enter offices such as the Vinh Tax Department and Vinh City People's Committee, so the city currently allows people to park their cars along both sides of Le Mao Street to get to work. This parking is convenient for people, but also narrows the area of ​​Le Mao Street, affecting traffic during rush hour.

Similarly, on Truong Chinh and Phan Boi Chau streets - the section in front of Vinh Railway Station market, Vinh City People's Committee also allowed part of the roadway to be turned into a paid parking lot.

In recent years, the Vinh City People's Committee has struggled to come up with many temporary solutions such as: Piloting sidewalk rental for parking and business purposes; cutting sidewalks for parking lots; establishing parking lots along both sides of the road... However, all of these solutions are indeed... "temporary"!.

In recent years, statistics show that the average growth rate of cars in Nghe An has reached 13 - 15%/year, among the top in the country. The "dizzying" growth in the number of cars has led to great pressure on parking lots, especially in the inner city of Vinh. In addition to personal vehicles, there are many public service companies in the city, with 6 taxi companies and 6 bus companies operating.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky - Director of Nghe An Department of Transport said that the solutions Vinh city is implementing are temporary; in the long term, it is necessary to plan parking lots. This is also the policy that the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People's Council have directed over the past time, but have not found an optimal solution.

Need long term solution

It is quite common for cars to be parked on the street in Vinh city. Photo: Phuong Thuy

Previously, in 2012, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued a decision approving the planning for the construction of a system of overpasses, parking lots and public toilets in Vinh City. However, up to now, the goal of public parking lots remains on paper and is no longer feasible in reality. At the time of planning, there was no funding and no investment attraction. Up to now, the planning is no longer suitable for many points that, according to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of Vinh Urban Management Department, need to be supplemented and revised. The pressure on parking spaces is gradually becoming a burden on the city's traffic infrastructure system.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky - Director of the Department of Transport, to completely solve this "problem", Vinh City must create a mechanism to attract investors to build a static traffic system, build smart parking lots, and multi-storey parking lots in the inner city. However, so far, no investors have shown interest.

Regarding this issue, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of the Urban Management Department of Vinh City said: Recently, the city has called on a number of investors to build parking lots in Trung Do Ward and Hong Son Ward, in front of Vinh Market. However, due to problems with bidding procedures, land funds and investment forms, it has not been implemented. Therefore, the city is currently carrying out procedures to dig up the sidewalk to invest in 4 parking lots. Specifically: Parking lot in front of the City People's Committee gate; two parking lots on Le Hong Phong Street (one in front of the Department of Transport gate, one in front of Hoa Sen Kindergarten gate); parking lot on Le Mao Street; parking lot at the gate of the Department of Finance on Minh Khai Street.

If you want to build a parking lot with a capacity of 250 cars or more, you need a large land fund, but there is currently no "clean" land fund. If you have to compensate, clear the land, and change the land use purpose (if any), investors are not interested based on the capital recovery rate, and the state budget does not have it.

The solution is that the city should soon deploy “field” parking lots with the condition of ensuring urban beauty and order. With the increasing number of cars, in urban areas, 4 more parking lots as above are too few. And in urban areas, it is necessary to stipulate that investors must consider ensuring parking for their own residents and partially clear vehicles at commercial centers, intersections, etc.

In addition, it is necessary to consider long-term solutions for large parking lots in the city that charge fees; or have solutions to limit the growth in the number of cars in the city if the infrastructure does not meet the demand, or limit cars on some inner-city routes.