The walking street has not opened yet but street stalls have sprung up like mushrooms on the sidewalks of Vinh city.

Ho Tung Mau Street (Vinh City) is one of four streets planned to be a walking street. Not yet officially implemented, but according to the reporter's observation, in the evening, on the sidewalk of Ho Tung Mau Street, there are quite a few street stalls. Most of these street stalls sell soft drinks, mixed fruit and some snacks.

A newly opened street stall selling soft drinks, mixed fruit and some snacks on the sidewalk of Ho Tung Mau street every evening attracts many young people. Photo: Lam Tung

When the city had a policy of opening a walking street, on the roads around Ho Chi Minh Square such as Truong Thi, Ho Tung Mau, and the provincial post office intersection, many spontaneous stalls appeared, selling all kinds of snacks and refreshments.

The simplicity and convenience of the items are common features of spontaneous street stalls. Photo: Lam Tung

The mushrooming of sidewalk stalls on streets planned to be turned into walking streets is posing many problems for the city such as environmental sanitation, urban aesthetics, security and order...

At newly established street stalls, it is easy to see that the tables and chairs of these street stalls are quite eye-catching and convenient for moving around. Photo: Lam Tung

Currently, the city has a tentative plan for doing business on the sidewalks and streets of the two main walking streets, Nguyen Van Cu and Ho Tung Mau.
Specifically: On the sidewalk of Nguyen Van Cu street: Allow households doing business on the street to use the entire sidewalk in front of their business establishments to organize additional types of tourism services to create excitement, bustle, and attraction for the entire street.
For the sidewalk of Ho Tung Mau street (section in front of the Provincial Culture - Sports Center, mobile police agency; Quan Lau market): Use the sidewalk for rent to organize night business activities, sell goods to serve tourists such as: sketch portrait drawing, calligraphy, photography, refreshments, coffee, street food...

The proliferation of street stalls and sidewalks without management will cause many difficulties in planning and management when the walking street is officially implemented.

Snack spots appear a lot on the sidewalk of Ho Tung Mau street from Nai bridge to the intersection of Nguyen Trung Ngan street. This street will be a walking street in the near future. Photo: Lam Tung

"The city encourages people to rent sidewalks to register their businesses on streets that are expected to be pedestrian streets. The current practice of individuals opening small shops is spontaneous. Spontaneous businesses will not be allowed because the city has planned which street sections will host which services. Currently, the Vinh City People's Committee has assigned the Truong Thi Ward People's Committee to organize business registration for people on pedestrian streets. Therefore, individuals who are interested can contact the Truong Thi Ward People's Committee for information and business registration in the near future."

Mr. Tran Quang Lam - Head of Economic Department, Vinh City People's Committee.