The information was announced by Mr. Nguyen Kien Giang - Deputy Head of the Department of Traffic Construction Maintenance and Exploitation Management (HCMC Department of Construction) at a regular press conference on the afternoon of October 2.
According to the cycling community, if they want to encourage people to switch to this green vehicle, the city needs to create conditions for more convenient and safer bicycle travel, not just stopping at a few pilot routes. They said that central roads with wide sidewalks such as Pham Ngu Lao, Ly Tu Trong, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia... should be considered for private lanes.
Regarding this, according to Mr. Nguyen Kien Giang, the National Technical Regulation on the Technical Infrastructure System stipulates: bicycle paths can be arranged on sidewalks, shared with pedestrians or other rudimentary vehicles, but must ensure technical standards, with a minimum width of 2.5 m.
Meanwhile, the sidewalks on many central streets of Ho Chi Minh City are both narrow and uneven, and are often occupied for two-wheeled parking, placing commercial items or having electric poles, lamp posts, and technical cabinets. This reality means that the remaining area for pedestrians does not meet the minimum requirement of 1.5 m according to regulations.
Not only the sidewalk, but even the road section is difficult to meet the needs of arranging separate lanes for bicycles.
Mr. Giang analyzed: Central routes currently have limited cross-sections, high traffic volume, and slow vehicle movement. If a part of the roadway is removed to make a separate bicycle lane, it will only aggravate the congestion."
Therefore, the construction of a bicycle road in Ho Chi Minh City needs to be carefully studied, ensuring compliance with the overall traffic planning, vehicle traffic volume and current infrastructure, instead of being implemented en masse.
Mr. Nguyen Kien Giang said that the Urban Traffic Management and Operation Center is currently implementing a pilot project on a bicycle lane on the sidewalk of Mai Chi Tho Street (from Nguyen Co Thach Street to D1) with a total two-way length of about 6 km. The project is expected to be put into operation in December 2025.
After the pilot route comes into operation, the Department of Construction will coordinate with units to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness to have a basis to consider expanding the cycling network in the city in the coming time.
