Parking and street encroachment citations were dealt to 188 violators while seven vehicles were temporarily confiscated on Thursday, the first day of a traffic inspection period, according to the Ha Noi Transport Inspectorate.

Photo: VnExpress

The Ha Noi Department of Transport also confiscated licences for vehicle parking areas on 262 streets and removed parking signs at the earlier request of the Ha Noi People's Committee in Official Letter 796, which banned parking on these streets.

The ban was enacted with the aim of easing traffic chaos and creating more room for pedestrians who have been forced to climb over vehicles or walk on the streets because they take up so much space on the pavements.

Although some parking lots were closed, brief parking by some vehicles continued.

On many streets where parking is now prohibited, including Hang Dao, Hang Bac and Ma May streets in the Old Quarter, parked vehicles were still spotted in several places.

Nguyen Thu Huong, a shop assistant at a clothes shop on Ma May Street said she was unaware of the new regulation, adding that customers going shopping on the street could still park their vehicles for a short time as usual.

On Hang Bac Street, parked vehicles were seen on both the road and the pavement.

Pavements were mostly clear of parked vehicles on Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Thai To streets, which surround Hoan Kiem (Sword) Lake in central Hoan Kiem District, but a few parked vehicles were spotted here and there.

The parking attendant of a shoe shop along Le Thai To Street, the only shop on the street that had any vehicles parked in front of it, said it was only temporary and that if the traffic police came, he would ask the customers to move their motorbikes.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, a shop keeper at a clothes shop on Hang Bong Street, where pavements were also quite clear, said the regulation was inconvenient because customers had to park on other streets before shopping.

A resident of Pho Hue Street, Tran Thu Trang, said the ban did help keep some streets more clear than usual due the more organised or limited parking, but it was impossible for everyone to follow the regulation strictly.

"I would be happy to see pavements completely unblocked someday, but I wonder where all the motorbikes and cars will go."

According to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, the Hoan Kiem District People's Committee received numerous phone calls from shop owners complaining about the lack of parking lots and the impact on their business activities.

Source: VNS