VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of illegal parking lots in the inner city are located on pavements, causing traffic congestion and danger to pedestrians.


Illegal parking lots operate in areas surrounding markets, hospitals, shopping centres and entertainment sites. They overcharge customers, sometimes by even five times as much the regulated price of VND2,000.

One of the illegal lots is on a sector of the pavement in front of Cho Ray Hospital in District 5. It is fenced with ropes and barriers, forcing pedestrians to walk on the road and worsening traffic congestion on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street.

Another illegal parking lot takes up pavements in front of Thai Binh Market in District 1, which receives hundreds of motorbikes every day with a parking fee of VND5,000.

As a temporary solution to improve State management of roads, the city issued a regulation in 2009 on fees for the use of pavements and roadsides on 63 routes for parking and commercial purposes.

However, more and more illegal parking lots that charge high fees have sprung up since that time.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News