Resolutions on food safety department, sidewalk-use fees passed
The revenue of which will be channeled into expenditure on traffic safety, environmental sanitation and urban beauty.
Hope for early implementation
As the gateway connecting the suburbs to the center of HCMC, Nguyen Thai Son Street (Go Vap District) extending from the gate of Military Hospital 175 to An Phu Dong bridge (connecting district 12) always has a high density of vehicles. Sidewalks on both sides of the road have also become a source of livelihood for many people, used for parking and business activities. Therefore, HCMC’s plan to allow partial use of the sidewalk and roadbed for business receives highly positive response.
A section of sidewalk on Nguyen Thai Son Street, Go Vap District is used for business. Photo: Ngo Binh/ SGGP
In addition, the fee is also said to prevent public properties such as sidewalks from being misused and, at the same time, create more budget for localities to reinvest in infrastructure and social security.
Talking to the reporter of Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper, Vice Chairman of District 1 People's Committee Vu Nguyen Quang Vinh said that District 1 shall start to implement Decision 32/2023/QD-UBND of HCMC People's Committee on management and temporary use of part of roadbeds and sidewalks in the city right after the 11th meeting of HCMC People's Council.
Currently in District 1, there are 75 roads that are eligible to hold trading activities; 44 roads and 76 roads are eligible to be used as 2-wheel vehicle parking spots with and without charge, respectively.
Effective use of roadbeds and sidewalks
According to Vice Chairman of Binh Tan District People's Committee Vu Chi Kien, 3 routes in Binh Tan District, namely Vanh Dai Trong, Ten Lua, and No. 7, are proposed to temporarily allocate a part of the sidewalks for business activities and services. Binh Tan District also proposed an additional 352 routes to be temporarily used as a transfer point for construction materials and waste to serve construction projects, including 19 routes under the management of the Department of Transport of HCMC.
District 3 has arranged to temporarily use part of the road and sidewalks since 2021, said Mr. Phan The Huy, Head of District 3 Urban Management Department. Accordingly, depending on the actual situation in the locality, the People's Committees of 12 wards will develop plans and propose roads with sidewalks wide enough to be marked for temporary public use while still ensuring space for pedestrians, traffic safety, environmental sanitation, and urban beauty.
3 cases where temporary use of roadways is allowed:
- Organize cultural activities and car parking for cultural activities.
- Act as a transfer point for household waste of urban environmental sanitation enterprises.
- Arrange parking spots with a parking fee
5 cases where temporary use of sidewalks is allowed:
- Organize cultural activities and parking spots to serve cultural activities.
- Serve as a point for business and trading activities.
- Act as a location for public transportation (with user fees), installing temporary works on sidewalks, median strips, and traffic islands.
- Act as a transfer point for materials and construction waste to serve construction projects.
- Arrange parking spots with a parking fee
(Source: HCMC People's Committee - Graphics: Tri The/ SGGP)
According to the Head of District 3 Urban Management Department, the order of sidewalks and roadways in District 3 has witnessed positive change after the arrangement. The collected fees can be used to reinvest in the currently used sidewalk areas as well as contribute to the state budget to upgrade and repair other sidewalks.
The sidewalk section of Ut Tich Street, Tan Binh District is used as parking for customers
In a submission to the HCMC People's Council on the project to collect fees for temporary use of roadbeds and sidewalks in the city, the HCMC People's Committee assessed that the need for temporary use of roadbeds and sidewalks by organizations and individuals exceeds the capacity of the current transport infrastructure system. Therefore, imposing fees for temporary use of roadbeds and sidewalks is appropriate and necessary.
Fee collection is to ensure efficiency in management, as well as fairness and equality between organizations and individuals who need to temporarily use roadbeds and sidewalks. At the same time, the collection, payment, management and use of this fee shall be made public and transparent, ensuring that the money is channeled into ensuring safe traffic, environmental sanitation and urban beauty, as well as effective and efficient exploitation, thereby raising additional funding for roadbed and sidewalk maintenance.
According to Decision No. 32/2023/QD-UBND of HCMC People's Committee available from September 1, 2023, the temporary use of a part of the road and sidewalk must reserve a minimum of 1.5 meter for pedestrians; the remaining roadbed shall be enough to accommodate at least 2 car lanes for one-way traffic. Organizations and individuals that temporarily use part of the roadbed or sidewalk are responsible for ensuring traffic order and safety.
HCMC People's Committee proposed a fee for temporary use of part of the sidewalk for business from less than US$1 to 4 (VND20,000-100,000) per cubic meter per month. The fee for temporary use of part of the sidewalk or roadbed for parking ranges from $2 to 14.4 (VND 50,000-350,000) per cubic meter per month, depending on the area.
According to statistics from the HCMC Department of Transport, the entire city currently has more than 600 roads over 9 meter wide; 1,143 roads with sidewalks 3 meter or more wide are eligible to be rented for parking and business purposes. If HCMC leases all of these locations, it will earn more than $62 million (VND1,500 billion) per year, fully allocated for repairing and maintaining roadbeds and sidewalks.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Vice Chairman of Go Vap District People's Committee:
Higher public awareness in need
Implementing Decision No. 32/2023/QD-UBND of HCMC People's Committee on the management and temporary use of part of the roadbed and sidewalks in the city, Go Vap District is reviewing and listing possible routes eligible according to this policy.
Through review, there is not any road suitable for temporary use of part of the roadbed, while some sidewalks' parts can be temporarily used. After implementing the fee collection, the district continues to raise people's awareness as well as handle violation cases of roadside order.
Mr. Dang Hoang Phuong, Head of District 10 Urban Management Department:
Purpose of temporarily using roadbeds and sidewalks
Through review and statistics of routes, there are expected to be 25 routes in District 10 eligible for fee collection consideration. Currently, 10 key routes have been marked with temporary sidewalk use limits, leaving at least 1.5 meters of sidewalk to ensure pedestrian walkway.
Sidewalks and roadways are managed by the State; therefore, organizations or individuals should be licensed and charged for using them temporarily. However, there are two problems when implementing the policy, namely determining the purpose of temporarily using roadbeds and sidewalks to decide the corresponding fee and managing public assets.
By Van Minh, Thu Huong, Ngo Binh - Translated by Yen Ngan