VietNamNet Bridge – Ten days after the HCMC government’s issuance of a list of 111 routes where vehicle owners are banned from parking on a 24/7 basis in district 1 and 3, local people are still seen trading and parking on the banned routes.

The Daily observed parking on road surfaces in both districts in streets such as Nguyen Hue, Le Lai, Le Duan, Alexandre De Rhodes, Mac Dinh Chi, Suong Nguyet Anh, Ly Tu Trong, Truong Dinh and Dien Bien Phu streets and Cong Xa Paris Square.

To dodge the parking rule, many drivers tend to keep on their indicators while sitting inside the cars for a prolonged period.

As per road traffic laws, the temporary stopping status of vehicles is only for long enough for people to get on/get off or upload/unload commodities. When stopping vehicles, drivers are not allowed to turn off the engine or leave the steering wheels.

Meanwhile, parking is the inactive status of vehicles without limited time, meaning drivers are allowed to get out of the cars after finishing parking and carrying out safe regulations. And several drivers take advantage of the rule to park their vehicles for a long time.

When drafting the list of banned routes for 24/7 parking, the city’s government agreed to add four more streets into the list of pay parking areas in District 1. Besides, the authorities announced the list of 117 streets with part of their sidewalks used as pay parking lots.

At the same time, the municipal government also agreed to let residents use part of the sidewalks to do business on 13 streets in districts 5 and 6.

However, the fact that locals occupy sidewalks and road surfaces for their business activities has still remained popular in numerous districts. In districts 1, 3 and Binh Thanh, a lot of eateries and tea shops occupy sidewalks while many others even put their panels on road surfaces.

Source: SGT