Hanoi sidewalk cleanup will move small food stalls into alleys: police

At a press conference held Thursday by the Hanoi People’s Committee, Duong Duc Hai, deputy head of the police department, said there are not many people who use sidewalks to run small businesses to make a living and so small food and beverage shops will have to be moved into alleys.

He added that in order to clear up the sidewalks, the city will draw up plans regarding the location of parking spaces and wet markets.

Hai said that people need to understand that sidewalks are not places to do business or for vehicles to park, but rather are public spaces for pedestrians to walk.

Also on Thursday, Tran Sy Thanh, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said districts need to deal with these cases of encroachment.

Hanoi is conducting a sidewalk cleanup campaign by removing obstacles such as billboards and awnings that encroach on streets and sidewalks starting from this month; resistance will be met with forced removal.

The capital launched a similar campaign in 2017 to make room on the sidewalks for pedestrians. Despite positive results at the time, the sidewalks were gradually occupied again by parking lots, shops and food stalls.