Residents of Hanoi now face huge difficulties in finding parking for their vehicles after the parking ban on hundreds of streets has taken effect.

A parking lot on Phu Doan Street regularly overloaded 

The ban took effect on Feb. 15, and closed a large number of parking lots throughout the city.

According to Minh, an employee at the parking lot of Viet Duc Hospital, they have been dealing with serious overcrowding by vehicles from neighboring street.

A woman named Thu Hien expressed the opinion that the spirit of the new regulation was good, but that authorities should have found solutions to these problems beforehand.

At the Duong Thanh-Bat Dan intersection, many cars could still be seen in a parking lot that was supposed to be cleared out. Mr. Binh, a resident, said that he had to struggle to find a parking lot located 2 kilometres away.

On the afternoon of February 16, a parking lot for trucks on Tran Khanh Du Street, run by Hanoi Parking Services Company, was still full of vehicles on the pavement and down the street. A man named Ngoc Anh, who lives at 71 Hang Ga Street, said that he was willing to follow the city’s new regulation, but he was facing difficulties in finding a new lot for his vehicle. “When a number of lots are being closed down, the high demand is making this much more difficult. When the authority is yet to find a proper solution to the problem, this ban is driving us to the wall.”

Nguyen Van Trong, an employee, said that the sudden decision to revoke their license has caused difficulties in resolving long-term contracts. “We were only told about the decision at 11pm the night before. How can the owners of 80 trucks find new parking arrangements overnight?" he said.

Meanwhile, Hoang Van Manh, the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Hanoi Department of Transport admitted that the late announcement had caused problems for some lots, but, he added, "I hope that residents in these areas will cooperate with the government to implement the regulations."

Previously, director of the department, Nguyen Quoc Hung, said that local people should find alternative means of transport. Still, the department is considering creating new parking places in some other streets. In the long term, it is also planning new parking lots that meet the increasing demand of local residents.

Source: Dtinews