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An "odd-even" parking policy for four-wheeled vehicles will be implemented on a trial basis starting this month on several streets in Hanoi, according to the city's transport department.
The experimental parking scheme is based on house numbers and requires residents to only park on a designated side of the street depending on the date. Cars will be permitted to park only on the "odd" side of the street on odd dates, and the "even" side of the streets on even dates.
The department hopes the scheme will create more space on the roads, some of which are often suffocated by vehicles parked on both sides of the street.
The first phase will focus just on Da Tuong Street in Hoan Kiem District.
In later phases, the scheme will be tested on Nguyen Gia Thieu and Cua Dong (Hoan Kiem District), Tran Xuan Soan and Le Dai Hanh (Hai Ba Trung District) and other suitable streets.
The department said it will consider a number of complex factors such as an uneven number of parking spaces on either side of each street and vehicle size to calculate parking fees.
On August 15, Hanoi Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said the city plans to reorganize parking and keep the public informed of any changes.
“This method has been applied in many other countries,” said Chung.
Last month, Hanoi's transport authorities unveiled a controversial three-step plan aimed at removing all motorbikes from the city, initially from the core downtown areas during peak hours, and later from suburban streets. The idea has been met with fierce opposition.
There are currently roughly 5 million motorbikes and scooters on Hanoi’s roads and the number of new vehicles is rising 7 percent a year, putting mounting pressure on the city’s infrastructure.
Statistics show 19,000 new vehicles are registered in Hanoi each month. It is estimated that by 2025, there will be more than 7.3 million motorbikes and 1.3 million cars on the city's roads.
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