Vinh City considers hourly parking fee collection plan

(Baonghean) - The number of cars is increasing rapidly and the roads and sidewalks of many streets in Vinh city are becoming unwanted parking lots.

Cars parked on the sidewalk and the street of Nguyen Duc Canh (Vinh city). Photo: Thanh Tam

Vinh city has been considered to have a synchronous and spacious traffic system. Many wide roads with many lanes have been opened and connected to each other, to districts, and to key routes. However, with the rapid increase in car speed, the roads are congested during rush hour, especially during times of heavy rain.

Currently in Nghe An, on average, there are 50 new cars registered every day, the whole province currently has more than 91,000 cars, mainly concentrated in Vinh city and surrounding areas. Due to lack of parking spaces and especially the sudden increase in the number of cars, cars stop and park everywhere, even on the sidewalk, roadside, curb...

To overcome this situation, the city has drawn lines allowing parking at some locations on the following routes: Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Ho Tung Mau, Phan Dang Luu... From the edge of the road, a 2m line is drawn for cars to park along the streets, sometimes interrupted. However, this is only a temporary solution because the lines allowing parking on the road have encroached on the roadway for non-motorized vehicles, leading to a narrowing of the roadway, causing traffic insecurity and congestion during rush hours.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien in Block 16, Hung Binh Ward, said: “In the past, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street did not allow vehicles to park on both sides of the road, so it was spacious and comfortable for bicycles and motorbikes to ride. Since the lines were drawn on both sides of the road for cars to park, it has become narrow, there is no more room for bicycles and motorbikes, we have to go on the road for cars, which is very dangerous.”

Mr. Hoang Van Thu in Block 1, Ben Thuy Ward said: “I have to go to the Vinh City Tax Department to do some business. There is no parking lot, so I have to park on the sidewalk. I know that parking like that is wrong, but I don’t know where to park.”

Cars parked all over the sidewalk on Lenin Street (Vinh City). Photo: Phuong Thuy

Currently, the situation of parking cars on the sidewalk is happening on many streets in Vinh city. On Le Loi street, the area in front of the Electricity Construction Company has become a parking lot. The sidewalk in front of many offices such as the Department of Construction, the Tax Department, the Provincial Post Office, the Department of Finance... is full of parked cars. Nguyen Duc Canh street, the section connecting Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street with Le Hong Phong street, although there are signs prohibiting parking, still has dozens of cars parked horizontally on the sidewalk and on the road; pedestrians and rudimentary vehicles have to walk in the middle of the road. Some empty areas such as the unfinished 72m road, Vinh Tan new urban area... have become spontaneous parking lots.

Previously, according to the province's planning, it would invest in a number of underground and multi-storey parking lots, but so far it has not been implemented because parking lots need to be socialized and the budget is not enough to invest. "Investing in a parking lot like that costs hundreds of billions, thousands of billions of VND, so it is not feasible at the present time," said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thang - Head of Vinh City Urban Department.

At a recent meeting on sidewalk clearance and ensuring urban order, the Vinh City Party Secretary said: The city has conducted many surveys but has not yet found a place to invest in large parking lots. Most of the vacant land has been allocated or leased. In addition, people's consumption and shopping habits when having to stop their cars to walk must also be taken into account. Therefore, calculations will be made to dig up sidewalks to create "field" parking lots on major streets. This is the most feasible solution at present. The city is also surveying 5 locations for parking lots. In addition, parking fees will be charged hourly on the streets to limit the situation of people parking all day on the streets, causing traffic congestion.

While the sidewalk clearance campaign is approaching, it is a bit late to consider parking lots. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly educate government agencies about parking cars on the sidewalks in front of their headquarters, while people who park on the sidewalks are fined, but no one at these agencies handles it.

Pearl - Thanh Tam