Sidewalks under 3 meters almost 'disappear'

(Baonghean.vn) - That is the reality on many streets in Vinh City when the sidewalks areencroached by peoplefor business purposes. The city has been campaigning for sidewalk encroachment for nearly a month, but encroachment still occurs every day.

According to preliminary statistics, Vinh city currently has 41 service and commercial streets with sidewalks over 3m wide and with boundary lines.

However, many roads and sidewalks under 3 meters wide without painted lines are still "completely" encroached upon. Meanwhile, according to regulations, these roads do not allow vehicles or business signs to be placed on the sidewalk.

The narrow sidewalk on Phuong Hoang Street, Trung Do Ward (Vinh City) has become a place for trading and storing household items, blocking the pedestrian path. Photo: Quang An

For sidewalks over 3 meters wide, Vinh city has painted lines to demarcate the boundaries for pedestrians and bicycle and motorbike parking.

There are streets with sidewalks over 6m wide, with a 2m wide section for motorbikes and bicycles on the residential side, and the remaining part for pedestrians. For streets with sidewalks 4-6m wide, draw a 2-3m section on the residential side, and the remaining part is for pedestrians. For streets with sidewalks 3-4m wide, draw a 1-2m wide section for motorbikes and bicycles on the residential side, and the remaining part is for pedestrians.

Some streets have many shops and businesses but do not have painted lines on the sidewalk such as Phuong Hoang, Hermann Gmeiner, Nguyen Viet Xuan... sidewalk encroachment happens frequently.

The main situation is that people park their cars on the sidewalks, spilling onto the streets; goods and billboards compete to encroach, affecting pedestrians and vehicle visibility.

On Hermann Gmeiner Street, the sidewalks are completely occupied, and people even leave their motorbikes on the street. Photo: Quang An

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van in Hung Dung Ward said: "Nguyen Viet Xuan Street in Hung Dung Ward is crowded with people every day, mainly students from Vinh University of Technical Education. Because there is no dividing line, the situation of vendors encroaching on the sidewalk is common, pedestrians have no way to walk."

Most shop owners said that because there were no painted lines, they did not know which part of the sidewalk was for pedestrians and which part was for public use.

Billboards compete to encroach on the sidewalk and spill onto Nguyen Viet Xuan Street - Hung Dung Ward. This is a street with many businesses but there are no dividing lines on the sidewalk. Photo: Quang An

According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Thien - Chairman of Truong Thi Ward People's Committee: "In addition to the roads with sidewalks over 3m wide that have been painted, the ward has 23 roads with small, narrow sidewalks without painted lines. The situation of encroachment and re-encroachment on these roads is complicated. Although the ward has increased its human resources to regularly patrol to prevent it,re-encroachment is still happening".

Talking to reporters, Mr. Phan Thanh Son - Captain of the Urban Order Management Team of Vinh City said:"In addition to 41 streets with sidewalks over 3m wide that are marked with painted lines, Vinh City does not mark lines on main streets and streets with sidewalks less than 3m wide. With small, narrow sidewalks, if lines are drawn for motorbikes and bicycles, there will be no space for pedestrians. Therefore, re-occupation of these sidewalks often occurs more often than on large sidewalks. Localities need to strongly propagate and strictly handle to create a civilized lifestyle that complies with the law for the people."

Quang An