From the sidewalk… to the street

A road in Rach Gia City ( Kien Giang ), morning of October 5. Photo: TN

However, for the "campaign" to be a complete success, it requires the cooperation of the entire political system and compliance awareness from the people.

HABIT OR VIOLATION?

First of all, the encroachment of sidewalks and roads is directly disrupting the basic function of public space. Sidewalks are inherently reserved for pedestrians, ensuring safety and convenience in movement. However, in many urban areas, sidewalks are an inherent “habit” of being occupied as places for trading, parking lots, and even temporary construction.

Not only that, on some roads, sidewalks and roadsides are also occupied for parking for customers when coming to shops, service establishments and businesses. There are no more pedestrian walkways, forcing people to go down to the road, even to the middle of the road when passing through these roads, increasing the risk of traffic accidents, at certain times also causing local traffic jams and chaos.

Some people still consider occupying the sidewalk and road in front of their house as an obvious and natural thing, regardless of the long-term consequences for the society and the surrounding environment. Small traders may consider doing business on the sidewalk as an essential livelihood, but this cannot be a reason to break the general rules of society. For large businesses and establishments, using the sidewalk and road in front of their house and establishment is a natural thing, without the need to ask for permission.

Everyone must remember and clearly understand that public space is not owned by any individual but belongs to the community and can only be used for common purposes. Every act of encroachment is depriving the rights of the majority of others; violating the 2008 Road Traffic Law, the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, Decree 100/2019/ND-CP of the Government ...

In reality, the cause is also the lax management from local authorities, which has not reduced sidewalk encroachment. The cleanup campaigns in the past were only temporary, when the authorities appeared, the encroachment stopped, but when the authorities were absent, everything returned to normal. On the other hand, the overlap in management between local agencies also makes it difficult to control. The responsibilities between departments and branches, from the police, construction inspectors, to urban management, are sometimes not clearly defined. As a result, there are areas where encroachment has persisted for a long time without any agency taking responsibility for handling it.

Finally, the consequences of encroachment on sidewalks and roads do not stop at the traffic aspect but also affect the urban aesthetics and quality of life of urban residents. Spontaneous stalls, littered garbage, or dangling billboards create a messy and uncivilized image. This image not only negatively affects tourists but also reduces the value of urban areas, fading the cultural character and local identity.

ALL IN

Faced with the situation of encroachment on sidewalks and roads in Rach Gia City, the Rach Gia City Party Committee has issued a resolution on this issue, and the Rach Gia City People's Committee has a plan and has implemented it. However, local authorities need to play a pioneering role in implementing policies, plans and strategies on urban management, maintaining traffic safety corridors and urban order. This includes issuing specific regulations, strictly managing and strictly handling violations.

Wards need to coordinate with agencies and functional forces such as traffic police, urban order management forces, and construction inspectors to monitor and promptly resolve cases of encroachment on sidewalks and roads. In particular, it is necessary to organize long-term campaigns, not only in the nature of movements but also to maintain continuous supervision to prevent recurrence.

The city needs to have a clear urban planning plan that is suitable for reality, ensuring both infrastructure development and protection of public space. Creative solutions in arranging space for small businesses and organizing legal trading areas will help reduce encroachment.

It must be unanimously determined that sidewalks and roads are common spaces of society, encroachment not only affects the community but also reduces the quality of life of the violators themselves. Therefore, people must raise awareness of respecting and complying with legal regulations related to urban order and protecting road safety corridors. Illegal trading and parking on sidewalks and roads must be stopped.

In implementation, we need a synchronous and resolute strategy from the government and strong support from the people. The government needs to demonstrate its determination in maintaining and protecting urban order. People need to demonstrate their civic responsibility, give up the habit of encroaching on public spaces and join hands to build a civilized living environment.

The government needs to come up with solutions to support and encourage businesses to comply with regulations. Legal trading areas and reasonable parking spots need to be scientifically arranged so as not to affect traffic order and safety while still ensuring favorable conditions for business activities.

It is also necessary to consider a pilot plan for shop owners and business households to rent sidewalks and roads in front of their houses and business establishments on roads that are not too stressful in terms of traffic. This will create fairness, generate revenue for the budget, and maintain the business efficiency of households. The community needs to promote its supervisory role, work with the government to promptly detect and report violations, thereby contributing to maintaining and protecting urban order and beauty.

Dignity

Source: https://www.baokiengiang.vn/ban-luan/tu-via-he-den-long-duong-22617.html