Vinh City officially began enforcing the removal of sidewalks from April 15th.

(Baonghean) - Following a public awareness campaign that began on March 17th, informing businesses and residents about clearing sidewalks to ensure urban safety and order, the city will begin enforcing regulations to remove those who deliberately encroach on public space starting on April 15th. So what do the authorities and residents say about this resolute clearance effort?

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of the Urban Management Department of Vinh City: Revoke business licenses of households that frequently violate regulations.

“The situation of parked vehicles blocking sidewalks, chairs set up for coffee shops, street vendors, advertising signs, food services, etc., is very difficult to resolve because people re-encroach after being cleared. Narrow streets are hampered by sidewalk encroachment, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road, which in turn creates difficulties for vehicles. During clearance, because the confiscated items are inexpensive, people are likely to re-offend. The city's policy is to confiscate and remove any obstacles to traffic on the streets. Any fixed or obstructing items that people don't remove will be demolished. The city will also mark designated parking spaces on the streets, usually 2 meters from the edge of the road. This has already been implemented on some wide and busy streets, such as Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, which has marked two lanes for motorbike parking... After these solutions, if any household repeatedly encroaches on the sidewalks, their business license will be revoked.”

Pearl(take note)

Mr. Nguyen Quang Viet - Chairman of Hung Phuc Ward People's Committee: Strengthening public awareness campaigns.

“Following the directive from the Vinh City Party Committee regarding the clearance of sidewalk safety corridors, from March 20th, Hung Phuc ward has notified residents to voluntarily dismantle and return the sidewalk and road surface within 7 days of the notice. Simultaneously, neighborhood officials are responsible for mobilizing and urging residents and reporting back to the ward. After the 7-day deadline, if residents have not dismantled their structures and continue to encroach on the sidewalk, the ward will direct coordinated forces to clear the corridor. After clearance, households must sign a commitment not to re-offend. If they re-offend, in addition to increased administrative penalties, they will be subject to forced dismantling and public criticism via the ward's loudspeaker system.”

Quang An(take note)

Mr. Ho Viet Thanh - Vice Chairman of Hung Binh Ward People's Committee: The households must sign a commitment not to repeat the offense.

“This March, Hung Binh ward has been compiling statistics on shops and businesses encroaching on sidewalks, and simultaneously launching campaigns to remind and encourage households to voluntarily clear the sidewalks. After March 20th, if any households continue to violate the regulations, the ward will send written notices clearly identifying the violating households and organize penalties according to regulations. Maintaining order on the sidewalks and strictly prohibiting re-encroachment is extremely important. After enforcing the clearance of the sidewalks, households with fixed businesses are required to sign a commitment not to re-offend; any future violations will be used as a basis for handling. For households with non-fixed street vendors, the ward will assign the urban order department to monitor them daily. In particular, Hung Binh ward has assigned leaders and organizations in the area to be responsible for monitoring specific streets to easily cover and promptly handle violations. Finally, households are provided with a hotline to report violations to the ward.”

Phuong Thuy(take note)

Mr. Doan Xuan Hung - Team Leader of the Urban Order Team of Truong Thi Ward: Three forces deployed to clear the area.sidewalk

“The issue of clearing the sidewalk safety corridor is regularly addressed by Truong Thi ward. In the coming time, following the directives of the Vinh City Party Committee on clearing the sidewalk safety corridor, the team will strengthen its forces and resolutely handle encroachment violations. Currently, the ward's order enforcement team consists of 6 people and conducts daily awareness campaigns on the streets. In the future, the order enforcement team will coordinate with the ward police and the neighborhood protection committee (nearly 20 people) to enforce regulations against violating households. These are the three main forces involved in clearing the sidewalk safety corridor.”

QA(take note)

Ms. Dang Thi Luong, a resident of Ben Thuy ward, hopes the authorities will allocate a corner of the sidewalk for her to sell goods.

“Previously, I worked as a laborer, sometimes as a construction worker, sometimes as a porter. The work was too hard, and my husband passed away early, so I tried to borrow money from friends to get some capital to sell drinks on the sidewalk. My stall has been operating on Nguyen Du Street for almost ten years. This stall is my source of income to support my children and my family. I'm very worried about the city's campaign to clear the sidewalks; I don't know how my family will survive... The sidewalk on Nguyen Du Street has little foot traffic, so I hope the authorities will create favorable conditions for us to continue selling in a certain corner; as long as we don't significantly affect pedestrians and keep the sidewalk clean.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, a resident of Hung Binh ward: There needs to be a separate area for street vendors so that people can earn a living.

“I’ve been selling fish sauce on Nguyen Sy Sach Street for a long time. On lucky days, I earn about 100,000 dong, but some days I don’t sell a single liter. Whenever the city authorities crack down on street vendors, I have to pack up my stall and run away. However, after a day or two, I have to bring my goods back out to sell because I have no other source of income, and besides, the goods can’t be preserved for long. In the future, if the city aggressively clears the sidewalks, I’ll have to stop selling on the sidewalk, bring my goods back home, and sell on my doorstep. In my opinion, the city should designate a designated area for street vendors to gather and continue their trade.”

PT(take note)