Residents oppose against the shutdown
The parking lot near the apartment buildings in Linh Dam Urban Area, Hoang Liet Ward, has the capacity for 500 cars, the biggest in the area, but it was unlicensed. When the apartment buildings opened in 2014, several firms reached an agreement with the investor to use unused land as parking lots for the residents.On May 21, when the police arrived to block vehicles from going in the lot, many residents went out on the street to oppose the decision. Some brought out a banner and argued with the police. Many parked their cars on the street. Linh Duong Street suffered from severe congestion as the opposition occurred during rush hour. At 8.15 pm, the residents were given permission to continue using the parking lot.
Hoang Liet Ward People's Committee announced the shutdown on May 18. The investors were asked to stop receiving vehicles by 7 pm on May 20 and residents were asked to stop using the lot.
Congestion occurs during the opposition
This is not the first time the local authorities have tried to shut down the parking lot. Last year, the residents also opposed after police put up fences outside the lot. According to the locals, if there were any violations the authorities should have banned or informed the firms years ago. But after the locals bought more vehicles and all the parking lots are full, the authorities and police started tightening management.Phong, a local in the area, said the authorities had completely ignored the situation, but now as they couldn't manage it, they issued a ban.
There are many high-rise buildings with tens of thousands of residents in Linh Dam Urban Area, putting huge pressure on the infrastructure. Recently, Vuong Le Company was given permission to use the pavement as a parking lot from February 2 to May 2. The locals said they didn't know where to park their vehicles if the only major parking lot in the area was going to be shut down since other parking lots announced that they were full.
The residents said they knew about the temporary of the illegal parking lot but they had no other choice. A local said, "The HH residential area has 12 apartment buildings but only one underground parking lot. Why did no one care about the parking problem when they approved this project?"
