Earning hundreds of millions of dong per year, but people in coastal villages "don't bother" to buy cars.

The narrow road makes it difficult for traffic participants. Photo: Viet Hung

Tien Thuy is a coastal commune of Quynh Luu district, located about 13 km from Cau Giat town center. This place is also known for the largest number of boats in the district with nearly 330 boats, total capacity of more than 90,000 CV, of which 157 are offshore fishing boats earning hundreds of millions of VND/month/boat.

In recent years, thanks to fishing at sea and developing fishing logistics services, people in Tien Thuy commune have had a well-off life, high-rise buildings have sprung up side by side, and many families have an income of hundreds of millions of dong per year.

As life is increasingly improved, people here want to buy cars to travel to serve their daily needs, but because of the narrow village roads and high population density, they have to turn to motorbikes and bicycles as their daily means of transportation.

Narrow alleys force many households in Tien Thuy commune to give up their “4-wheel” dream. Photo: Viet Hung

Mr. Ho Cong Tuong in Thanh Tien village, Tien Thuy commune said that the narrow roads make people's lives extremely stuffy, traffic is difficult; many households want to buy cars to travel but have to give up because the roads in the commune are only wide enough for two motorbikes to pass each other. If you want to buy a car, you have to park a few kilometers from your house, but it causes traffic jams.

Cramped roads not only make traffic difficult but also make transporting goods and construction materials inconvenient.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh - a resident of Thanh Tien village said that the road leading to her house is only about 1 meter wide, just enough for motorbikes and bicycles to pass. Every time people here build a house, the materials have to be gathered hundreds of meters away from the house, and people have to use modified vehicles to transport them in.

“Roads in the countryside are no different from the streets of Hanoi. Those who are not familiar with the road can easily crash into the wall; if two motorbikes meet, one must back up to let the other go forward,” Ms. Oanh added.

The roads leading to the villages are only 1.5 - 2.5 meters wide, with some sections being nearly 1 meter wide, just enough for a motorbike to pass through. In the photo: The alley of Thanh Tien village. Photo: Viet Hung

According to research, Tien Thuy commune has 9 villages with more than 10,000 people. The high population density makes many roads narrow. According to observations, the widest road in the commune is only about 5 meters, but the length is only about 500 meters, the remaining roads into the village are all 1.5 - 2.5 meters wide; even many roads have alleys only about 70 cm wide.

Due to traffic problems, the entire commune currently has only about 32 vehicles; including 8 cars, 17 pickup trucks and 7 passenger vans. Meanwhile, some neighboring coastal communes such as Quynh Nghia, Son Hai... have a total of hundreds of vehicles.

This is considered the widest road from the market to Tien Thuy commune headquarters with a width of 5 meters, but vehicles encounter many difficulties. Photo: Viet Hung

Mr. Bui Van Phuc - Vice Chairman of Tien Thuy Commune People's Committee added that the reason for the crowded traffic system in the commune is due to the past. With the characteristics of a coastal commune, people from many places return here to live and make a living, attached to the seafaring profession. Therefore, the population density is increasingly high, causing many roads in the commune to be narrowed. This is also a difficult problem in building new rural areas, currently the commune has only achieved 12/19 criteria, in which the criteria on traffic, facilities, environment... are very difficult.

Not only in Tien Thuy commune, in Quynh Luu district there are many coastal communes with problems in traffic criteria such as Quynh Long, An Hoa... These are localities with little land fund and high population density, if striving to complete traffic criteria to reach the new rural finish line, it will be really difficult.

Viet Hung