Abandoned security shacks avoid Saigon's sidewalk campaign

By Thanh Nguyen March 22, 2017 | 01:03 am PT

The magic of Saigon's cleanup campaign seems to have overlooked these fairly obvious obstacles.

A bulky booth blocks the whole sidewalk of Truong Sa Street in Binh Thanh District.

A bulky shack blocks the whole sidewalk on Truong Sa Street in Binh Thanh District.

Another one that makes the small traffic space ever more suffocating.

Another gives traffic even less space.

This security booth is only used in the morning by officer who is on duty. And since its closed for the rest of the day, a few small traders have make use of its as their flower shop, said Nam, a local in Ward 3, Binh Thanh.

"This security booth is only used in the mornings by the officer who is on duty. Since it's closed for the rest of the day, a few small traders have made use of it as a flower shop," said Nam, a local in Ward 3, Binh Thanh.

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On Truong Sa Street, a civil defense office stands on bricks, occupying most of the sidewalk. "We do not understand what this [office] was set up for. We seldom see anyone going in or out," said Nguyen Bieu, a local in Ward 1.

The spacious sidewalk on Thanh Da street is blocked by a civil defense structure, leaving pedestrians little choice but to walk down traffic road.

The spacious sidewalk on Thanh Da Street is blocked by another civil defense office, leaving pedestrians little choice but to walk on the street.

On Tam Vu Street (Binh Thanh district), there are two adjacent civilian security posts on the pavement, which were said to rarely operate. These offices have been abandoned for a long time while still occuping the sidewalk for a long time. We have tried to report this many times to local authorities but they are still here, said Nguyen Tu, a local..

On Tam Vu Street (Binh Thanh District), there are two adjacent civilian security offices on the pavement that are rarely used. "These offices have been abandoned for ages but still take up the sidewalk. We have tried to report this many times to local authorities but they are still here," said Nguyen Tu, a local..

According to Tu, for many years, the posts have been rented by a business as a storage, packing plastic stools, vending machines and other furnitures inside.

According to Tu, the posts have been rented by a business to store plastic stools, vending machines and other furniture inside.

Since there are no people at the post, many people reportedly urinated and littered all sort of garbages at the place..

Since there is no-one manning the post, many people reportedly urinate and litter around the area.

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Less than 100m away, a permanent office building also occupies most of the sidewalk, but it is always locked and seems to have been abandoned for a long time, locals reported..

Another rarely used structure inside in Phan Xich Long Park, Phu Nhuan District. It has been there for five years, but rarely used, said Tran Binh, a local.

Another abandoned shack in Phan Xich Long Park, Phu Nhuan District. "It has been there for five years, but it's rarely used," said Tran Binh, a local.

A booth on Nguyen Dinh Chieu street - Nguyen Gia Thieu, District 3.

A temporary office on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, District 3.

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And another one on Nguyen Lam Street, District 10, squeezed into a corner and serving no purpose. Earlier this month the city asked shops and restaurants to keep their business off the sidewalks. Anyone and anything standing in the way of city’s bid to become a Singapore-esque metropolis has been either reprimanded, pulled down or towed away. But the city still seems to have much work to do.

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