Hanoi's parking shortage pushes cars onto sidewalks and streets

Detailed summary

Hanoi's streets and sidewalks are increasingly crowded with parked cars, as only 72 of 1,690 planned public parking facilities have opened.

Vehicles line both sides of Luong Ngoc Quyen Street in Hanoi's central Hoan Kiem Ward, which is 324 m long and 6 m wide. The scene is frequent during morning rush hours, despite an active parking ban.

Under a plan approved by the Hanoi People's Committee in 2022, the city will develop 1,690 public parking facilities, including 97 underground facilities and 469 multi-story parking structures.

Progress has been limited. To date, only 72 facilities have become operational. An additional 61 are under construction, while the remaining 1,557 projects are still on paper.

Illegal parking is common on many streets and at different times of the day. At a parking lot on Hai Ba Trung Street in Cua Nam Ward, many cars are parked outside designated spaces marked by white paint.

Nearly 10 km away, an informal parking area has sprung up along Tuong Mai Street in Tuong Mai Ward since a new road was opened.

Many drivers use vacant plots of land along the road to park their vehicles.

Vehicles are frequently parked along Dai Tu Street in Dinh Cong Ward, despite parking prohibitions in the area.

Mai Hoa, a local shopkeeper, noted that following municipal sidewalk clearance operations, many cars have now moved onto the roadway, causing frequent congestion during morning and evening rush hours.

A section of the central median on Tran Khat Chan Street has been informally repurposed as a parking area.

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