Sidewalks less than 3 meters wide have almost 'disappeared'.
(Baonghean.vn) - This is the reality on many streets in Vinh City when sidewalks are in disrepair.encroached upon by local residents.It's used as a business location. Nearly a month has passed since the city launched a campaign to reclaim sidewalks, but encroachment still occurs daily.
According to preliminary statistics, Vinh City currently has 41 service and commercial streets with sidewalks wider than 3 meters, and the boundaries have been marked.
However, many roads and sidewalks less than 3 meters wide, which lack painted lines, are still completely encroached upon. Meanwhile, regulations prohibit vehicles and business signs from being placed on these sidewalks.
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| The narrow sidewalk on Phuong Hoang Street, Trung Do Ward (Vinh City) has become a place for selling goods and storing household items, completely blocking the pedestrian walkway. Photo: Quang An |
For sidewalks wider than 3 meters, Vinh City has painted lines to delineate the boundaries between pedestrian areas and areas for bicycles and motorbikes.
On some streets with sidewalks wider than 6m, a 2m wide parking area for motorbikes and bicycles is marked on the side facing the houses, with the remaining area reserved for pedestrians. For streets with sidewalks between 4m and 6m wide, the area is marked 2-3m towards the houses, with the remaining area reserved for pedestrians. For sidewalks between 3m and 4m wide, the parking area for motorbikes and bicycles is marked 1-2m towards the houses, with 2m reserved for pedestrians.
Some streets have many shops and businesses but lack painted lines on the sidewalks, such as Phuong Hoang Street, Hermann Gmeiner Street, and Nguyen Viet Xuan Street... sidewalk encroachment occurs frequently.
The main problem is that people park their vehicles all over the sidewalks, spilling onto the road; goods and advertising signs compete to encroach on the sidewalks, affecting pedestrians and the visibility of vehicles.
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| On Hermann Gmeiner Street, the sidewalks are completely occupied, and people even park their motorbikes on the road. Photo: Quang An |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Van from Hung Dung ward said: “Nguyen Viet Xuan street in Hung Dung ward is very busy every day, mainly with students from Vinh University of Technology and Education. Because there are no painted lines to demarcate the sidewalks, street vendors encroaching on the sidewalks are common, leaving no space for pedestrians.”
Most shop owners said that because the sidewalk wasn't marked with painted lines, they didn't know which parts were for use and which were reserved for pedestrians.
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| Advertising billboards are encroaching on the sidewalks and spilling onto Nguyen Viet Xuan Street in Hung Dung Ward. This street has many businesses but lacks designated sidewalk markings. Photo: Quang An |
According to Mr. Nguyen Tat Thien, Chairman of the People's Committee of Truong Thi Ward: "Besides the roads with sidewalks over 3 meters wide that have been marked with painted lines, the ward has 23 roads with narrow sidewalks that are not marked with painted lines. The encroachment and re-encroachment on these roads is a complex issue. Although the ward has increased personnel for regular patrols to prevent this,"The situation of re-encroachment continues to occur."
Speaking with reporters, Mr. Phan Thanh Sơn, Team Leader of the Urban Order Management Team of Vinh City, said::"Besides the 41 streets with sidewalks wider than 3 meters that have been marked with painted lines, Vinh City does not have painted lines on main streets and streets with sidewalks less than 3 meters wide. With narrow sidewalks, if lines are drawn for motorbike and bicycle parking, there will be no space for pedestrians. Therefore, re-occupation of these sidewalks is more common than on wider sidewalks. Local authorities need to conduct strong public awareness campaigns and strictly enforce regulations to foster a civilized lifestyle and adherence to the law among the people."
Quang An
