Vinh City strengthens campaign to clear traffic safety corridors

Widespread violations

Walk along the streets ofVinh cityIt is not difficult to see sidewalk encroachment for business purposes. In 2020, due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, urban order was loosened, so the re-encroachment of urban sidewalks occurred widely.

Shops take up all the walkways, vehicles park haphazardly, and household waste is dumped haphazardly right at the roots of trees along the road, making the urban face of Vinh become dirty and messy.

On streets such as Ton That Tung, Nguyen Viet Xuan, Nguyen Du, Nguyen Van Troi, Nguyen Van Cu, Ha Huy Tap, etc., billboards, flower pots, ornamental plants, and construction materials block the sidewalk, occupying the entire pedestrian lane.

Penalties for households violating traffic safety corridors. Photo courtesy of Quang An

Along Nguyen Sy Sach and Le Ninh streets, car and motorbike washing stations are also operating openly on the sidewalks, causing sand and soil to flow into the drainage ditches, blocking the flow and causing localized flooding.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Khanh - Chairman of Hung Dung Ward People's Committeesaid: “The issue of encroachment on sidewalks for car washing cannot be completely resolved because households place tools, pumps, and water tanks inside their houses, only pulling the faucets outside, making it very difficult to confiscate. The ward has also drawn up records to confiscate the evidence of some households that wash cars in violation, but they have not come to work to impose fines.”

The situation of encroachment on sidewalks, violating urban order, not only occurs in inner-city wards but also on main roads of suburban communes such as the area in front of the Provincial General Hospital, the 115 Hospital gate or the Quan Banh afternoon market area, Nghi Phu commune. Pushcarts, stalls, and people gather to buy and sell right on the sidewalk and on the road in a brazen manner...

Vinh City determined to ensure urban order

To restore urban traffic order before, during and after the Lunar New Year 2021, Vinh city is currently directing rapid response forces to clear sidewalk encroachment hotspots to hand over clean land to wards and communes for management.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Duc - Head of Urban Management Department - Team LeaderVinh City Rapid Response Teamsaid: "In the past, some wards and communes have not fulfilled their responsibilities in managing urban order, so violations of traffic safety corridors are still occurring. Therefore, the Rapid Response Team will now be determined to thoroughly handle the hot spots and hand them over to the wards and communes right at the scene for management."

Authorities dismantle water tanks that violate railway traffic safety corridors in Vinh city. Photo: Hong Quang

Vinh City has organized a high-point campaign to clear the traffic safety corridor. During the high-point campaign at the end of 2020, functional forces and wards and communes confiscated nearly 1,000 billboards, umbrellas, tables, chairs, and tarpaulins, which are items that violate urban sidewalk order. At the same time, they organized the clearance and dismantling of civil constructions that encroached on the railway traffic safety corridor.

In Nghi Kim commune, the local government coordinated with the Vinh City Urban Order Management Team to demolish 16 kiosks and civil works secretly built by some households in hamlet 15 on the railway traffic safety corridor, obstructing the train's view.

With the motto of clear and civilized sidewalks associated with socio-economic development, Vinh city has established an interdisciplinary inspection team to work with wards and communes to conduct field surveys on each street to point out the shortcomings that need to be overcome in urban order management and environmental sanitation. At the same time, the city also assigned the responsibility to the heads of wards and communes to take responsibility for any recurrence of violations, which will result in a downgrade in the emulation ranking.

Resolving traffic safety hotspots in the city. Photo: Hong Quang

On the other hand, the city assigned wards and communes to draw and regulate temporary boundaries according to the reality of each sidewalk and each route to facilitate people's economic development. If any household violates, it will be strictly handled or have its business license revoked.

Mr. Le Sy Chien - Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee affirmed: "In the coming time, the city will further strengthen the coordination between functional forces and wards and communes to punish violations and review and perfect the force in charge of urban order management. Continue to propose to competent authorities to allow the city to pilot sidewalks and pilot parking fees.caron roads where car parking is restricted. The city will also prioritize appropriate resources to develop infrastructure to better serve the management of urban order.