From 4 pm until late at night, all the pavements around Saigon University, particularly on Nguyen Trai Street in District 5 are taken up by shops selling clothes, footwear, helmets, toys, and other accessories.
The pavement looks like a market. Sign boards are even hung on the street lights and electricity pylons.
Buyers have to stop and park their vehicles on the street, affecting traffic.
Nearby An Dương Vuong Street also sees lots of food stalls selling on the pavement. Although barriers have been put up to prevent vehicles from going on the pavement, they cannot prevent food businesses.
Customer motorbikes are parked on the pavement.
On Su Van Hanh Street in District 10, many shops selling curtains and mats illegally occupied all the pavement. Some shop owners here explained that there were few pedestrians so their businesses weren't affecting anyone.
The illegal encroachment on pavements are also rampant on the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa roads running through many districts of 1, 3, Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, and Tan Binh where food and drink stalls operate on the pavements.
The HCM City Department of Transport has recently proposed to charge on the use of local roadsides and pavements for parking and other commercial purposes, which they said would help solve the illegal encroachment.
