In 2019 Hanoi adopted a standard design for urban sidewalks.
Following that 15 districts and towns have paved nearly 300 streets with stone. So far it has been done on 255 of them, mainly in inner districts such as Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Cau Giay, and Tay Ho, while the rest remain paved with bricks.
Many sidewalks have subsided, cracked or broke.
At the Dinh Tien Hoang – Hang Bai intersection in Hoan Kiem Ward, it has sunk 10 centimeters on side of the road, and the tiles have peeled off.
About 4 km away, on Khuat Duy Tien Street in Thanh Xuan Ward, the sidewalk is severely damaged in many places.
"This section has been sinking for years," Hieu, a motorbike-taxi driver who regularly picks up passengers here, said.
Along the sidewalks, several underground cable markers have been dislodged. Prolonged heavy rains recently caused flooding for days, and passing vehicles created waves that displaced and peeled off the stone tiles.
At the Khuat Duy Tien – Tran Duy Hung intersection, a big patch of sidewalk tiles has completely come off, exposing the foundation beneath.
On Tran Phu Street in Ha Dong Ward, large puddles of water form after rain as sidewalks are no longer flat. Many sections along the route are in similar condition.
At the section near the Ring Road 3 metro station, where traffic jams occur frequently during rush hour and motorcyclists often take to the sidewalk.
At the Nguyen Xien – Pham Tu intersection, prolonged flooding submerged the pavement, and the surface stones peeled off and people have gathered and piled them up in a corner.
Since late August Hanoi has been repeatedly inundated by heavy rainfall and storm events. On Aug. 26 Typhoon Kajiki triggered severe flooding across the city, with the water reaching around one meter in some streets and traffic grinding to a halt. On Sept. 30 another downpour linked to Typhoon Bualoi caused further chaos in the city, with streets submerged, vehicles stranded and commuters wading through floodwaters.
On Oct. 7 the city’s drainage network was overwhelmed again as Typhoon Matmo brought heavy rainfall. At least 122 places in the inner city were flooded with 29 areas being under half a meter of water.
On 19/5 Street, between Van Quan Lake and Than Tho Lake in Ha Dong Ward, tiles have pried loose and water stagnates for days when it rains. The area often suffers from waterlogging also since water levels in the two lakes rise sharply during heavy rains.
Over multiple bouts of renovation, the materials used for paving sidewalks have included interlocking block bricks, cement concrete tiles, terrazzo tiles, and natural stone. However, many of these materials have degraded in several areas, spoiling the city's appearance and inconveniencing pedestrians.
