Shops and other businesses on Bà Huyện Thanh Street in HCM City’s District 3. — Photo nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City Traffic Safety Management Board has instructed relevant district agencies to find and punish encroachment of roads and pavements.

At a recent meeting between the board and the Gò Vấp District People’s Committee to discuss encroachment hotspots in the district, Phạm Văn Đồng and Đặng Văn Sâm streets were identified.

These two roads have many shops and other businesses that encroach on pavements and street and remain open until midnight. People find it difficult to use Đặng Văn Sâm Road because its pavements are occupied by local residents and street vendors.

According to the City’s Traffic Safety Management Board, several districts in the city also have the public space be infringed upon.

In many cases, owners of houses use nearby roads and pavements for parking vehicles and displaying goods and signboards.

Roads and pavements are also used for funerals, wedding parties and other such purposes, and these have negative impacts on traffic safety, order and the city’s appearance, he said.

According to the board, 15 of 178 streets it inspected faces major traffic problems caused by encroaching businesses, including Võ Văn Tần, Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Thuận Kiều, Nguyễn Tri Phương, Lê Quang Sung, Minh Phụng, Ông Ích Khiêm, and Kinh Dương Vương.

Officials from all district committees agreed that they face challenges and difficulties in restoring order on roads and pavements.

Nguyễn Hữu Nghĩa, vice chairman of the Gò Vấp District People’s Committee, said campaigns are under way to remove unlicenced shops and businesses on Phạm Văn Đồng Street, but as soon as one shop is raided, other encroachers in the vicinity clear away the furniture and boards that they put on the road or pavement.

Furthermore, a number of roads run through multiple districts, including Đặng Văn Sâm Street which runs through Gò Vấp, Tân Bình and Phú Nhuận, and campaigns to clear encroachers here require co-ordination between the three districts, he said.

Nguyễn Ngọc Tường, deputy chief of the board, has called on inspectors from his agency and district authorities to improve oversight to prevent encroachment and penalise violations. — VNS