Parking cars line up along Hoa Ma street despite a no-parking sign. (Photo: VNA) According to the Traffic Police Department of Hanoi, the capital city saw239,045 newly-registered vehicles in 2021, of which, 60,926 are cars, 171,797motorcycles, and 6,322 electric motorbikes.
These figures took the total number of vehicles in Hanoi to more than 7.5million, along with over 1.2 million others from nearby localities also joiningthe traffic flow in the city.
While the number of personal vehicles continues to rise, parking lots andstations only account for 0.12% of the area of the inner districts, meetingjust 10% of the demand.
The situation has led to numerous unregulated parking lotsappearing in vacant spots: from alongside pavements and alleyways, to the yardsinside schools, office buildings, apartment blocks, residential areas, as wellas empty lots of new and unconstructed projects.
According to the Hanoi Department of Transport, developing parkingspaces in the city is an issue that departments of all levels are focusing on.Private investments are also mobilised to mitigate the problems.
However, implementation still meets multiple obstacles related to policies,budget, and the capacity of investors.
Dang Tien Nam, head of the Hoan Kiem district Traffic Inspection Team, said:“Hoan Kiem district has more than 300 authorised parking lots, and the rest areunregulated.
“These illegal spaces are taking up the space of streets, pavements andalleyways. Violations occur most often during holidays and major events.
“In the first six months of this year, the Traffic Inspection Team of Hoan Kiemdistrict has addressed 72 violation cases and issued 200 million VND (8,500 USD)in fines.”
A recent case around Giap Bat Station was brought to light after localresidents reported that unregulated parking spots sprung up along the roads andpavements in the area, and were imposing a much higher fee than the city’sregulations.
They were charging up to 20,000 VND (0.85 USD) per vehicle, while theregulations state that parking fee is 5,000 VND (0.2 USD) during the day, 8,000VND (0.3 USD) during the night, and 12,000 VND (0.5 USD) for the whole day.
Nguyen Duc Chinh, deputy chairman of the Giap Bat ward People’s Committee,said: “The ward’s committee and police are aware of the violations in this areaand have conducted multiple inspections, but are yet able to eradicate thisdifficult issue.”
There are similar situations in other districts. Ba Dinh district last year saw35 illegal parking lots, while this figure in Hoang Mai district was 82.
Along the narrow Hoa Ma street in Hai Ba Trung district, cars can be seenlining up right next to a no-parking sign in front of Ngo Thi Nham ElementarySchool.
Other vehicles were also parked along the two sides of the road, and on the ThiSach street nearby.
According to Nguyen Thi Thuy Huong, director of the Hanoi Parking One MemberCo. Ltd, the large number of unregulated parking areas is having a negativeimpact on the city’s budget. Stringent and immediate measures from authoritiesare needed to address the issue.
Assessment from the Hanoi Department of Transport also revealed that parkinglots in the city centre are very limited due to high population density andenormous demands.
To relieve the pressure on infrastructure, the city’s focus is to put on callingprivate investors to build new parking lot projects in annual investmentpromotion conferences.
Other measures include administration reforms and rapid land clearance toattract more qualified investors.
The Hanoi Department of Transport also issued a temporary permit to 31 serviceproviders to use parts of the roads for parking, with a total area of 31,705square metres across 134 streets.
In addition, 12 out of 30 districts were granted permission to use a combinedarea of 91,930 square metres for parking services, with fee collection andsubmission to the State budget as per regulations.
These measures aim to not only reduce the pressure on parking services but alsocontribute to State coffers.
The traffic inspection unit is also tasked with developing annual plans andcoordinating with the city's police and finance department, and local People'sCommittee to conduct reviews and address parking violations.
In 2019, the city People's Council also issued a resolution that addressesissues related to investment, aiming to ensure feasibility as well as a balancein interests among the stakeholders.
Notable policies include incentives on loans and access to capital sources,land lease and allocation, import tax support for advanced technology andequipment, and diversifying investor profiles.
Underground and multi-storey parking garages in the city, funded by privateinvestors, have been built and gone into operation, receiving a positivereaction from the people.
Dao Ngoc Nghiem, architect and deputy chairman of the Vietnam UrbanPlanning and Development Association, said: “The main reason why parking lotprojects are not yet attractive to investors is the undefined key objective ofthese spaces.
“If we consider this matter a profitable industry, a comprehensive and feasiblepolicy is needed.
“Organising underground spaces needs to be completed soon to increase parkingareas, alongside mobilising people’s resources and a penalty policy forviolations.”
The Hanoi People's Committee recently approved a master plan for urbanunderground construction by 2030 with a vision for 2050.
According to the document, there will be 78 parking lots in four old innerdistricts, taking up a total area of 104 hectares.
From now until 2025, Hanoi will focus on 204 public parking projects within thecity, with a budget of 29.8 trillion VND (1.27 billion USD./.
VNA
