The Hanoi Department of Transport has proposed the installation of cameras to record pavement violations.
According to the department director Vu Van Vien, around 400 cameras should be installed on streets to detect violations as authorities can’t be on duty all the time.
Pavement encroachment has remained rampant in Hanoi
Lieutenant-colonel Nguyen Anh Son from Thanh Xuan District’s traffic police division, supported the proposal, saying that this would be an effective way to supervise business activities along streets around the clock.
Nguyen Nguyen Quan, head of the Hanoi People Council’s urban management board, said that sanctions were not strong enough to deal with pavement encroachment. He advocated the camera installation on Hanoi streets, saying that it is an intelligent way of managing the issue.
Meanwhile, Dao Ngoc Nghiem, vice chairman of Hanoi Urban Planning and Development Association, said that cameras are only a short-term solution. It is more important to raise the public awareness of protecting pavements. Pavements are commonly owned by everyone, not only by an individual. Different agencies need to closely co-operate in the fight against the pavement violations.
Pavement encroachment in Hanoi has remained rampant with illegal parking lots and business services despite efforts to crack down on violators.
Temporary markets have even appeared on many streets. When authorised forces are on duty, locals clean up everything on the pavement. When they are gone, they continue to set up businesses on the pavements.
