Restoring order at flower and ornamental plant stalls.
(Baonghean.vn) - During the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon, the flower and ornamental plant market became even more vibrant and bustling. However, unlike the chaotic buying and selling scenes and encroachment on sidewalks causing traffic congestion in previous years, this year, it is noticeable that, thanks to the decisive intervention of the authorities, the flower and ornamental plant stalls have become much more orderly and organized...
These days, the main streets of Vinh City, such as Le Nin Boulevard, Phan Dinh Phung Street, Ho Tung Mau Street, and Le Hong Phong Street, are overflowing with the vibrant colors of kumquats, peach blossoms, and apricot blossoms. Every year around this time, to attract buyers, many vendors would encroach on sidewalks and roads, causing traffic congestion and safety hazards. In particular, along sections of Le Nin Boulevard, even the road itself was occupied by vendors selling flowers and ornamental plants. However, this year, the situation has significantly improved, most noticeably in the "hot spots" on Le Nin Boulevard, where vendors have moved closer to the sidewalks and concentrated on side streets.
Urban inspectors are checking the sale of flowers and ornamental plants along Lenin Street and its side streets.
Several large-scale flower and ornamental plant vendors have been encouraged to relocate to the Hung Dung and Truong Thi ward stadiums – two designated selling points by the city. Mr. Le Van Binh, originally from Dien Chau, said: "With over 100 imported kumquat trees, I initially stockpiled them on the sidewalk of Le Nin Boulevard, but after being encouraged and assisted by urban inspectors, I moved them to sell at the Hung Dung ward stadium starting from January 17th."
As for Mr. Le Van Thong, a seasoned peach blossom vendor on the boulevard, although he is a little worried about competing with many smaller vendors who take advantage of the absence of law enforcement to go out and solicit customers, he still adheres to his commitment to gather 40 peach blossom trees close to the sidewalk because "connoisseurs still come to the right place to buy the peach blossom branches they like to decorate their homes for the Spring Festival." Many ornamental plant vendors have rented or borrowed space from unfinished construction sites to store their goods and only bring out the amount of plants they need to sell on the sidewalk...
Mr. Nguyen Van Son, Chief Inspector of Vinh City Urban Planning, stated: In implementing Plan No. 86 and 87/KH-UBND of the Vinh City People's Committee on ensuring traffic safety, urban order, and environmental sanitation in Vinh City, the urban planning inspection team has established 8 teams actively coordinating with functional forces such as the construction inspection team, urban planning team, police of 25 wards and communes, and traffic police of Vinh City to strengthen propaganda and mobilization efforts, and focus on patrolling, controlling, and strictly handling cases of encroachment on sidewalks and roads, violations of traffic safety corridors, and environmental pollution affecting urban aesthetics.
For areas where flower and ornamental plant markets may be established, the People's Committees of the wards will directly contact units with available space, utilizing vacant land to set up selling points to avoid traffic congestion. A new feature this year is the cross-deployment of traffic control and police forces from wards and communes to clear traffic safety corridors on the city's main roads, preventing favoritism and favoritism. Accordingly, 25 wards and communes are divided into 8 clusters, each cluster consisting of 3-4 wards, launching simultaneous operations on 40 main roads.
However, what worries the authorities is that although several designated areas for selling ornamental plants and flowers have been planned, due to the general preference for convenience among both sellers and buyers, and the competitive nature of the situation, businesses still prefer to operate on the sidewalks of main roads rather than in designated areas. The demand for buying and selling during Tet is large and widespread, while urban enforcement is limited, so on peak days like the 29th and 30th of Tet, encroachment on roads and sidewalks for selling peach blossoms and kumquats is still possible in "hot spots" such as Le Nin Boulevard and Phan Dinh Phung Street.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, acting head of the Urban Planning Department of Vinh City, said: "During the period leading up to the Lunar New Year, the emergence of flower and ornamental plant markets is an inevitable need of the people. The city government always strives to create favorable conditions for people to do business. However, in addition, people also need to actively cooperate with functional forces in ensuring traffic order, safety, and environmental hygiene on the streets... so that the atmosphere of welcoming the Spring is more warm and joyful."
Khanh Ly - My Ha