As traffic jam remains a big issue for Hanoi despite heavy investment in transport infrastructure in the capital, the city held a workshop on October 24 to figure out solutions to improve the problem.
Traffic jam on a main street in Hanoi. Photo: VNA
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Hanoi has also been implementing projects of ring roads 1, 2, 3 and investing in radial roads towards completing the transport infrastructure network, to reduce congestion and traffic accidents, Tuan said.
He added that the Ministry of Transport and Hanoi city are joining hands in carrying out several urban railway projects, such as the Cat Linh-Ha Dong (Route 2A) and the Nhon-Hanoi Station (Route 3) routes. Preparations are underway for the implementation of railway routes No. 4 and No. 5, and the extension of Routes No. 2 and No. 3.
Besides, a number of big bridges around the city have been completed, for example the Nhat Tan across the Red River, the Dong Tru spanning the Duong River and most recently the Van Lang connecting Hanoi and adjacent Phu Tho province across the Red River, Tuan said.
He stressed that those projects have contributed considerably to reducing traffic jams in the inner city, and Hanoi will continue to push ahead with projects under its master plan on transport infrastructure development, so as to increase connectivity and ease pressure on belt and radial roads.
Nguyen Huu Tien, deputy director of the Environment Department under Ministry of Transportation, said that on state management, one of the first solutions to reduce air pollution is to ease traffic jams. The next solution is the implementation of emission control from vehicles on roads.
Tien added that in recent years, the Ministry of Transport has controlled emissions from vehicles, by applying Euro 4 emission standards for new vehicles.
Pham Hoai Chung, director of the Urban and Rural Transport Center under the Institute for Transport Development and Strategy said that from a research perspective, the impact of traffic jams on socio-economic development is serious.
A recent study shows that traffic congestion caused Hanoi about US$1-1.2 billion damage per year, Chung noted.
Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Division under the Hanoi Public Security Department Nguyen Manh Hung said Hanoi’s transport infrastructure is overloaded due to the high density of high-rise apartment buildings in some areas and the rapid increase in the number of private means of transport.
Referring to solutions to reduce traffic jams and accidents, Hung said that the most important factor impacting people in the traffic, especially the driver, is 24/7 automatic camera system, thus, drivers have implemented the Road Traffic Act more seriously.
Deputy Director of the Hanoi Transport Department Ngo Manh Tuan reported that his department has been applying information technology in traffic management. A smart traffic control center has been established to regulate traffic flow and timely address congestions.
Mentioning a proposal on collecting fees for private transport means when entering the inner city, Tuan said the department has submitted its scheme on how to carry out the mechanism. The scheme, which by now has been submitted to the Vietnamese government for guidance, includes imposing road fees on vehicles in areas with high traffic flow.
