Hanoi should focus on strategic planning, including redesigning urban zoning to give more space available for traffic which has become much heavier since the city's administrative boundary expansion ten years ago, experts have said. Transport expert Nguyen Manh Thang analyzed that when the boundaries were expanded, Hanoi’s land fund becomes larger, but the population and means of transport also swell.
Ten years after the expansion of administrative boundaries, Hanoi's area has increased more than three times, its population has exceeded seven million and there are nearly six million means of transport in circulation in the city. Besides, a large number of migrants and vehicles from neighboring provinces add pressure on the city's road network.
Ring road 2 will reduce traffic load in the center of the capital. Photo: Pham Hung
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Given narrower land fund, Hanoi needs to aim to develop underground space and stretch the traffic density outside the city’s center to reduce traffic pressure, Phan Truong Thanh, an expert in urban management, suggested.
To radically solve the traffic jam problem, Hanoi should combine the two groups of "hard" and "soft" solutions, Thanh said.
"Soft" solution is to use both administrative and economic measures to curb the rise and gradually reduce the use of personal vehicles, while encouraging dwellers to use public transport, Thanh added.
Restriction of personal vehicles not only helps increase the traffic space, but also limits traffic congestion and protects the environment, Thanh emphasized.
In addition, there should be solutions to redesign the overall architecture, expand the traffic space through the reduction of urban density by encouraging people to move to the suburds, Thanh said.
Thanh identified that Hanoi can exploit urban land fund for transport in two directions. Firstly, for the inner areas, the city should focus on exploiting underground space with investment, construction of subway lines, underground parking lots. Secondly, Hanoi should quickly complete the relocation of some headquarters of agencies, departments, schools, hospitals out of the city center.
Many experts also noted that the city needs to quickly establish satellite towns with technical and transport infrastructure that is capable of meeting trade, internal and inter-regional connectivity.
These satellite towns play important role in both even distribution of population density and transport load reduction. They also have stimulated synchronism and parallel development between the inner and outskirts of Hanoi, according to experts.
After the ten-year expansion, Hanoi has made strong breakthroughs, reaching the scale of a civilized and modern city. However, to sustainably develop, it is necessary to inevitably solve the issue of traffic jam, expand the traffic space, connect well from inside to outside, contribute to boosting socio-economic efficiency, experts stressed.
