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Jul 21, 2017 / 10:06

Unauthorized parking still rampant in Hanoi

Unauthorized stop or parking has been the major reason for traffic congestion in Hanoi. The Law on Road Traffic has listed forbidden activities which include illegal stop or parking. However, so far the law has not been strictly enforced as Hanoi has many narrow roads, roads with no signs and unnamed roads.

Regulations left without being enforced
 
The Law on Road Traffic forbids vehicles to stop or park in road bends or close to the slope crest, positions with no clear visibility. Vehicles are not allowed to stop or park in roads which cross  section wide enough   for a single line of vehicles. However,  Hanoi drivers seem to understand only road signs instead of  traffic regulations. For them, no forbidding signs means being allowed to park or stop, regardess of  what the law  says.  
 
Vehicles stop and park in To Hieu Street.
Vehicles stop and park in To Hieu Street.
In new housing areas, the inner roads are under the management of developers, making it hard for the law enforcement forces to deal with paking violations.
Some district governments  argued  since the roads  are not under their jurisdiction, the major solutions are just reminding the infractors. And the effectiveness of reminding equals zero.
 
In need of consistent measures
 
Taking into consideration of the lack of parking area in Hanoi, measures on tackling traffic congestion are not effective and  vehicles without place to park, continue to stop and park in unnamed streets or streets with thin road bed, especially in streets without road signs. The Head of Traffic Police in Thanh Xuan District Bui Doan Ngoc suggested  to add more road signals at traffic hot spot. However, this is only a temporary solution, while the most important thing is the awareness of citizens.
 
After 4 months strengthening the enforcement of traffic regulations, the violations have been reduced. However, with the current growth rate of vehicles, the traffic  management will be finding with more difficulties.