After 6 months of piloting traffic reorganization, Hoan Kiem Ward People's Committee (Hanoi) has proposed expanding the scope of restrictions on cars with more than 16 seats operating during peak hours to reduce congestion, ensure urban order and gradually deploy "low emission zones" in the central area.
According to Official Dispatch No. 1370/UBND-KTHTĐT of Hoan Kiem Ward People's Committee sent to Hanoi City Police, Hanoi Department of Tourism, Cua Nam Ward People's Committee and Ba Dinh Ward People's Committee on coordinating reporting and evaluating the traffic organization plan to restrict cars with more than 16 seats, the pilot implementation in the Old Quarter area and around Hoan Kiem Lake in the past time has brought many positive changes in traffic order and safety.
Reduced traffic volume of large vehicles has limited the situation of stopping, parking, and arbitrarily picking up and dropping off passengers on narrow streets. Traffic pressure has been reduced, contributing to improving urban aesthetics and tourism space in the core area of the Capital.
Through surveys, this policy has received consensus from people, tourists and many travel businesses and accommodation establishments. Tourism activities are basically still maintained stably thanks to the flexible arrangement of transfer points and appropriate vehicle regulation.
However, the implementation process also revealed some inadequacies such as the limited scope not covering all streets with high tourist density; vehicles tend to concentrate on adjacent routes, causing local traffic pressure; the application time frame needs to be adjusted more synchronously with the city's general regulations.
From the above reality, Hoan Kiem Ward People's Committee proposed to expand the scope of restrictions on cars over 16 seats during peak hours to the entire ward area. The planned scope is determined according to routes including: Trang Thi - Phung Hung - Hang Dau - Tran Nhat Duat - Tran Quang Khai - Trang Tien - Hang Khay (inward).
The restricted hours are proposed to be applied daily, in the morning from 6am to 9am, and in the afternoon from 4pm to 7:30pm. Notably, this plan is built synchronously with the pilot implementation roadmap of "low emission zone" phase 1.
According to Hoan Kiem Ward People's Committee, early control of large vehicles is a fundamental solution to improve environmental quality, towards sustainable urban development.
To ensure that transportation and tourism activities are not interrupted, the locality proposes 4 main transit points including: Ba Trieu street (Hang Khay - Hai Ba Trung section), Tran Nhat Duat street (Cao Thang - O Quan Chuong section), Tran Quang Khai street (Hang Mam - Hang Thung section) and Tran Khanh Du street (area in front of the History Museum).
Along with that, Tran Quang Khai parking lot is being studied for investment in a smart parking system, expected to increase the connectivity between large vehicles and the Old Quarter and the bus network.
Continuing to improve and expand traffic organization solutions is considered an urgent requirement, not only contributing to reducing congestion but also building an image of a civilized, modern, and friendly to people and tourists of the Capital's central area.
Information from the Hanoi Department of Tourism, currently Hanoi City accounts for about 38% of international visitors to Vietnam. Hanoi City is strongly developing products associated with Thang Long heritage, craft villages, community tourism, river tourism and local cultural experiences.
According to Mr. Anh Tuan, director of a travel company, Hanoi is currently implementing railway and river tourism routes along the Red River to expand the experience space for tourists. Therefore, the city needs to create conditions such as banning cars with more than 16 seats at certain times to avoid congestion because most tourists come and go to the Old Quarter area late at night and early in the morning.
Talking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Do Dang Trung - General Director of Flytime Travel Company said that Hanoi's Old Quarter area concentrates many restaurants, hotels, and accommodations for a large number of tourists, especially international tourists.
According to Mr. Trung, if applying vehicle restrictions, functional agencies should consider only banning 45-seater cars, because currently most travel businesses use small cars to transport passengers from areas such as Tran Nhat Duat, Le Van Huu, Long Bien or Pham Hung... into the Old Quarter.
European tourist groups of 7 - 10 people often use 16-seater cars or more because they carry a lot of luggage. Therefore, we hope that functional agencies will study and issue appropriate policies to both ensure traffic and support tourism activities," Mr. Trung said.
