A busy intersection in Dong Da district, Hanoi (Photo: VNA) To thoroughly solve this problem, experts says Hanoi needs Transit OrientedDevelopment (TOD) which means streamlining and reducing the size of theresidential areas, and connecting high-density residential areas with publictransport.
According to a report of the Hanoi Transport Department on traffic congestionin 2022, the number of traffic jam hot spots in the city has increased from 35to 45.
Most of the hot spots of traffic congestion are in the radial and ring roads,and intersections near large urban areas and high-rise buildings.
In the past few years, many residents living in urban areas or apartmentbuildings along busy roads of Le Van Luong, To Huu and Linh Dam residentialareas have been looking for ways to move because they have to face constanttraffic jams.
There are inadequacies in urban planning associated with traffic planning andland use planning.
Asso. Prof. Dr. Ho Ngoc Hung, a lecturer of Architecture and Planning atConstruction University, said that since Hanoi’s urban master plan was approvedin 2011, all proposed studies on urban transport came after the completion ofland use planning.
“Because of this, the integration between traffic and land use of urban areascould not be considered properly,” said Hung.
“This leads to imbalances with a high proportion of private vehicles such ascars and motorbikes while the increase in housing density in the city makesland use functions and traffic more complicated,” Hung said.
In daily life, people in urban areas have to make many trips by different modessuch as using public transport, walking, cycling, motorbikes and cars.
“Choosing a mode of transport in urban areas that does not depend on personalvehicles is a fundamental factor of traffic congestion and accidents,” said thelecturer.
“Therefore, land use planning must be concerned with creating conditions forpeople to easily and quickly access public transport so that they can give upprivate means of transport,” he said.
Land for public transport
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Hoai Nam, a lecturer of Bridge and Road Construction atConstruction University, said that the construction of ring roads No. 2 and No.3 and two-storey roads is necessary.
However, the city also needs to consider that roads for more personal vehicleswill be very expensive and soon will lose their effectiveness, Nam said.
“Therefore, a number of separate lanes should be reserved on double-deckerroads and ring roads for mass transit vehicles,” the lecturer said.
In addition, the use of highways and rail lines connecting to satellite citiesshould be done cautiously.
Using two parallel passenger transport corridors has never been considered agood thing as this will likely lead to highways being congested while publictransport lines are deserted and require huge state subsidies. This will causebig losses and a burden to the State budget.
This is the lesson learnt from Seoul 20 years ago, which had an urban planningvery similar to the current planning of Hanoi, Nam said.
The capital city is making adjustments to the Construction Master Plan 2030,with a vision to 2050, in association with the Hanoi Urban Development Programme2030, with a vision to 2050, to meet development needs.
In order to ensure urban sustainable development, many experts said that it isessential to properly integrate traffic planning with land use planning in theprocess of developing the urban space.
This integration needs to be done in all planning stages from general planningand zoning to detailed planning.
“Changing planning thinking takes a long time to realise and apply,” Nam said.
“The long-term solution is to re-plan residential areas, even long-standingones, in the direction of compactness, utility, mixed land use, and connectionof high-density residential chains by public transport,” he added./.
VNA
