Several districts in Ho Chi Minh City have identified roads with spacious sidewalks and marked lines on them in preparation for the implementation of sidewalk fee collection in 2024.
In recent days, markings have been placed on the sidewalks of Nguyen Trai Street in District 1, designating a 1.5m-wide area for vehicle parking. The remaining section of the sidewalks, approximately 2m in width, will be allocated for pedestrians.
Thanh Nam, a security guard at a shoe store in the area, stated, “The vehicles will be neatly arranged in rows, and there will be personnel overseeing them. This organized approach aims to maintain cleanliness on the sidewalks.”
Nguyen Trai Street, located in the city center, is renowned for its numerous fashion stores, leading to high demand for vehicle parking daily. However, most shops along the street lack dedicated parking spaces, resulting in vehicles occupying the sidewalks for years. With HCMC’s plan to implement sidewalk parking fees next year, the expectation is for improved orderliness regarding parking and business activities.
Starting from January 1, HCMC will introduce new policies governing the management of streets and sidewalks, permitting certain activities with associated costs ranging from VND20,000 (82 U.S. cents) to VND350,000 ($14.50) per square meter, depending on the location. Sidewalks designated for these activities must be at least 3m wide, with a minimum of 1.5m reserved for pedestrians.
In District 1 alone, besides Nguyen Trai, there are approximately 154 other road sections with sidewalks wide enough for the new policies to be applied. Out of these, 84 sections are anticipated to become self-managed parking areas, 54 sections will be designated for businesses, and 16 other sections will become fee-based parking spaces.
Vu Nguyen Quang Vinh, Vice Chairman of District 1 People’s Committee, mentioned that the district’s urban management department has gathered opinions from relevant units to finalize the list of eligible streets. Several streets have already completed preparations for the policy’s implementation.
HCMC plans to select specific roads for a trial implementation of fee collection, and the consent for fee collection will be negotiated between property owners and renters of the space.
“The fee collection is not intended to generate income but to bring order to the streets,” said Duong, adding that digital means would be utilized for fee collection, minimizing the use of cash. The unit is in the process of proposing software development to manage such a system, with details about pricing and fee collection methods to be announced later.
Currently, HCMC has over 4,800 roads that are at least 5m wide, with 2,600 of them lacking sidewalks. For years, sidewalks have been encroached upon for business or vehicle parking, causing traffic disruptions. While cleanup teams have been deployed in the past, the effects have not been long-lasting.