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Decision No.32 will come into effect on September 1, 2023 to replace Decision No.74, issued in 2008 about the management of roads and pavements. Deputy Director Phan Cong Bang first mentioned the new content in Decision No.32.
Firstly, HCMC People’s Committee used to permit the use of certain sidewalks or road parts. Decision 32 now allows HCMC Transport Department as well as the People’s Committees of all districts and Thu Duc City to release a list of streets with suitable pavements for organizing service provision and commercial activities or parking lots for 2-wheel vehicles free of charge.
Secondly, feasible solutions must be adopted to improve safety for pedestrians in crowded areas, to encourage the use of public transport via convenient utilities, and to better apply technologies in the tasks of administrating, managing, investing, constructing, exploiting, renting pavements and a part of roads, along with proper fee collecting.
Thirdly, when there is a wedding or funeral, local residents must actively notify the People’s Committee of their ward for support on maintaining order and traffic safety, sanitation, and urban beauty.
Such activities as service provision and commercial activities, parking lots for 2-wheel vehicles free of charge or temporary parking lots can only be organized on eligible roads and with allowed scope by the People’s Committee of districts and Thu Duc City.
The places to install utilities to serve public transport; other temporary or fixed structures to serve traffic purposes on pavements, median strips, and traffic islands; bicycle lanes are approved by HCMC Transport Department.
Fourthly, the four following cases must have a permit for operation:
_organizing cultural activities (sports events, festivals, parades) or events to propagandize new policies and directions of the Party and the Government’s laws (except those approved by HCMC People’s Committee)
_organizing 2-wheel vehicle parking lots for cultural activities
_organizing transfer points for materials and waste when constructing a building
_organizing paid parking lots.
Finally, households wishing to organize the above activities must observe the new rule of saving at least 1.5m on sidewalks for pedestrians.
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Deputy Director of HCMC Transport Department Phan Cong Bang |
Answering the question on the unit in charge of collecting fees and the allocation of this amount, the Deputy Director informed that HCMC Transport Department all fees will be sent to the city budget, while the expenses for fee collection activities are distributed in compliance with the estimate approved annually for the purposes of fee collection and road, pavement maintenance.
To ensure transparency in fee collection and use as well as the fairness for any organizations, individuals wanting to temporarily use sidewalks and a part of roads, all necessary information (fee types, rates, collection methods, related legal documents) are publicly posted at collection points and on the formal website of units assigned to carry out the task.
Deputy Director Bang then informed that according to this Decision, there are 117 routes with eligible sidewalks for paid parking lots, 13 for service provision, and commercial activities, and 42 with eligible part of roads for paid parking lots. However, after adjustments to suit current traffic status and the real road conditions, only 20 routes in District 1 (12 routes), District 5 (3 routes), and District 10 (5 routes) are suitable for paid parking lots. They possess a sidewalk of at least 3m wide, and can decide their own use fees after the approval of HCMC People’s Council.
Regarding the cases to have fee exemption, he listed the following: weddings, funerals, parking lots to serve these events, temporary parking lots for political and cultural events of HCMC. Other cases such as paid parking lots, cultural events and temporary parking lots for them, transfer points for materials and waste when constructing a building, transfer points for domestic waste of urban environmental sanitation enterprises, service provision and commercial activities must pay fee in full.
The fee is calculated in compliance with the current planning and the section of managing pavement and road use in the Law on Fees and Charges, as well as guiding documents. Any organizations and individuals allowed to temporarily use sidewalks or a part of roads must pay money as instructed by the management unit for road traffic infrastructure.
When organizing commercial activities in the allowed part of sidewalks, citizens do not need to pay fees, but the use of any parts in the list of paid-for-use must fulfill their duty. Failure to do this results in sanctions, and the monitoring is done via urban management, demographic management, ID management, and utilities management.
According to the draft for the fee collection project, 2,598 routes with a total length of over 2,000km have no sidewalks and 2,271 routes with a total length of around 1,950km own sidewalks. Among the latter, 929 routes have a 3-meter-wide pavement, with a total length of 673.31km. It is expected that the annual revenues from temporary use of sidewalks and a part of roads will be VND 972 billion (US$41 million) and VND550 billion (US$23.2 million), respectively.
