VietNamNet Bridge – A number of solutions proposed by the HCMC Department of Transport to cope with the worsening traffic situation in the city are considered ineffective in a long term, said traffic experts.

Illustrative image – Photo: SGT

As assessed by the municipal Department of Transport, traffic jams are not uncommon in the city, especially at rush hour. Data of the department showed that this year has seen 27 traffic jams that lasted for more than 30 minutes in the city.

The department ascribed the worsening traffic congestion to the rising number of vehicles while available land for traffic infrastructure development is limited.

To deal with the situation, the department plans to implement some measures such as making many roads one-way, improving intersections, imposing a fee on autos entering the city center, and allowing motorbikes to use an approach road to HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway to ease traffic congestion.

However, these measures are assessed as unviable to reduce traffic jams in the city.

Pham Sanh, a traffic expert, said Le Quang Dinh and Phan Van Tri streets in Go Vap District should not be turned into one-way roads as they are not in parallel.  

To help ease traffic on the two routes, Sanh proposed to improve some intersections on Phan Van Tri Street as well as to prevent vendors from encroaching on pavements and roadsides for trading purposes.

He also suggested that the city’s transport authority open extra lanes on Cong Hoa Street to enhance traffic circulation.

A research project conducted by Nguyen Phuong Nguyet Minh and her partners from the Faculty of Urban Studies of the HCMC University Social Sciences and Humanities shows that smart traffic lights could be developed to control traffic on Cong Hoa Street to reduce congestion.

Another plan that the department suggests is that car owners would have to pay a fee for entering the city center, a scheme that has been repeatedly mentioned. Experts questioned the legal basis for the scheme, and added that the measure is hard to be carried out due to strong opposition from the public.  

Sanh said there should be effective measures to develop public transit services.

Currently, the downtown area is home to so many schools, hospitals and office towers, so the measures the department has proposed to be launched in 2017 are unlikely to produce as good results as expected.

SGT