Gridlock return exposes Hanoi traffic shortcomings

The noise of engines, the smell of exhaust smoke and the sweltering heat making for a nightmare scenario.

But it is a common scene for most Hanoians.

Traffic on Nguyen Trai Street in Hanoi, August 8, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The problem of gridlock in the capital city is exacerbated during holidays, as seen on September 4, the last day of the four-day holidays for Independence Day, when vehicles had backed up for two kilometers on the Phap Van – Cau Gie expressway, which links Hanoi with its southern neighbors and is the busiest expressway connected to Hanoi.

Congestion is again making headlines after two years of peace on roads due to the Covid-19 pandemic when people were told to stay at home.

Experts blamed poor urban planning for fragmenting the traffic system.

Burgeoning populace, limited traffic space

Traffic planning and engineering have been areas of focus for Hanoi authorities for many years, but they are failing to accommodate the growing population.

The 2019 census showed that the city's population had grown at 2.22% a year during the previous decade since 2009, 1.5 times the nationwide average of 1.44%.

People flooding into the capital for job opportunities bring with them an overwhelming number of vehicles.

According to the traffic police office, more than 7.6 million vehicles are plying on the city's roads, 5.8 million of them motorbikes.

The population growth is outpacing additions to traffic infrastructure with the lack of land being the biggest problem.

Normal urban planning standards require megacities to earmark at least 20-25% of their total land for traffic works, but in Hanoi it is only 10%, according to Hanoi's Transport Department. Meanwhile, the number of cars is growing at more than 10% a year and motorbikes 6.7%, surpassing the development of traffic infrastructure, it said.

High density of skyscrapers

Le Van Luong Street in the southwest of the capital has a high building density. The new road is home to some 40 skyscrapers along its two-kilometer length. So a large number of residents and white-collar workers have to weave around in heavy traffic every day. "Streets of misery," regular commuters dub roads like this.

"Le Van Luong Street is an example of inadequate planning," Nguyen Duy Hung, deputy head of the Central Economic Commission, said.

Towering buildings on Le Van Luong Street in Hanoi, July 20, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

The increasing demand for housing and the shortage of land have caused property companies to deviate from licensed building designs.

In a report in June Ministry of Construction inspectors pointed out violations of construction laws such as exceeding permitted height and reducing communal spaces without approval.

Tran Ngoc Chinh, an architect and chairman of the Vietnam Association of Urban Planning and Development, said: "Skyscrapers built all over Le Van Luong Street only benefit developers, not the public."