NguyenNgoc Tuong, deputy head of the city’s Traffic Safety Committee, has admittedthat the city is facing big problems related to traffic jams, especially duringpeak hours at the city’s entrances, around Tan Son Nhat Airport and nearseaports, a total of 37 traffic congestion hotspots in all.
“Asignificant increase in immigration and newly-registered motorbikes andautomobiles are the main reasons for the situation,” Tuong was quoted as sayingin the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper last week.
Everyday, the city has over 1,000 newly-registered vehicles, but land for trafficinfrastructure remains unchanged, the official said at a traffic conference on February17.
“Pavementencroachment by businesses is another reason for serious traffic jams,” headded.
Over100 pedestrians died in 2016 because of pavement encroachment.
Tocope with the situation, Tran Quang Lam, Deputy Director of the TransportDepartment, announced seven groups of solution with 160 missions.
“48urgent traffic works will be built to tackle traffic congestion while feecollection for automobiles on downtown streets will be implemented,” Lam said.
Inaddition, the development of an automatic fee collection system will beaccelerated while a digital online traffic map will be promoted.
However,Lam affirmed that the city would be able to settle 18 of the 37 current trafficcongestion spots soon and those remaining would be handled in the near future.
Thecity’s Traffic Police Forces announced that they would increase penalties forthose who have violated traffic laws.
“Wewill carefully study 37 serious traffic congestion hotspots and arrange fortraffic policemen to manage the flow of vehicles,” Huynh Trung Phong, head ofthe HCM City’s Police Department’s Road and Railway Traffic Police Sub-departmentsaid.
Accordingto Chairman of Cu Chi district People’s Committee Nguyen Huu Hoai Phu, pavementencroachment is a very complicated problem. In the district, total length ofencroachment is around 600 km and relevant authorities have faced manychallenges in the clearing of encroachments, even from commune authorities.
“CuChi District has fired one commune chairman and disciplined two commune deputychairmen in charge of urban order,” Phu announced.
“Onehousehold went to court suing local authorities,” he added.
NguyenThanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, asked leaders oflocalities and departments to increase their determination in settling trafficcongestion.
“Leadersof districts and departments should be directly involved in coping with trafficjams,” he said.
Atthe meeting, Le Van Khoa, Deputy Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee,suggested State staff should walk to work if they live less than 3 km fromtheir offices.
Healso required the Transport Department and district 1 to consider usingbarriers to stop vehicles from travelling on sidewalks.
“Authoritiesshould consider the impact on disabled people,” he said.
Thisyear, the Transport Department set a goal of 600 million people using publictransport, a ratio of water leakage under 27.5 percent, 16 of 40 flooding spotsfixed, 62,540 sq.m of green space added and 25 km of road and 10 bridges built.
Themunicipal Traffic Safety Committee will focus on building a traffic culture foryoung people with the goal of reducing the number of deaths and injuries fromtraffic accidents by 5 percent.-VNA