Ba Dinh District authorities recently licensed Hanoi Parking Company One Member Co.Ltd. To use around 400m long of Huynh Thuc Khang Street as a parking lot.
Cars fill the sidewalk on Giang Vo Street in Ba Dinh District.
Parking fees here ranges from VND24,545 to VND29,455 (US$1-1.24) per hour, or VND2.9-3.5 million per month.
Hanoi's Construction Department has been evaluating at least seven proposals and projects aiming to upgrade city projects this year. Department researchers have found that one of the 5 major causes of sidewalk degradation in the city is the encroachment of vehicles, mostly cars.
On December 16, Hanoi chairman Tran Sy Thanh ordered district authorities to stop all activities that could cause damage to city sidewalks, including using them as parking lots.
A group of foreign tourists forced to walk in the middle of Phung Hung Street in Hoan Kiem District because the sidewalk has been taken up by cars.
Pham Tuan Long, Hoan Kiem District Chairman, said the district has assigned its urban management police office to review all illegal sidewalk parking lots.
Beginning January 1 next year, parking lot operators who fail to leave enough space for pedestrians will no longer be allowed to use the sidewalk for business purposes.
Hoan Kiem District has also made plans to gradually ban the parking of cars on all sidewalks. The plan allows motorbikes to be parked on the sidewalk "if demand is high enough."
People walk in the street beside a sidewalk full of cars on Hoan Kiem District's busy Tran Quang Khai Street.
Hoan Kiem has 32 legal sidewalk parking lots in total, according to the government.
Cars parked all over the place in front of Indira Gandhi Park on Lang Ha Street in Dong Da District.
